We present a highly sensitive method for the determination of platinum (Pt) in DNA extracts of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and tissue samples from patients treated with cisplatin. The method is based on the measurement of Pt by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and allows quantification of Pt-DNA adducts in PBMCs isolated from 10 mL blood and 1 mg tissue. The lower limit of quantification is 0.75 pg Pt or 7.5 fg Pt μg(-1) DNA when using 100 μg DNA. The method proved to be accurate and precise. The results obtained using the ICP-MS method were in good agreement with results from the alternative (32)P-postlabelling assay. The ICP-MS method was, however, more sensitive and proved to be less laborious. The advantages of the presented ICP-MS technique were demonstrated by the analysis of PBMCs, normal gastric tissue, and gastric tumour tissue of patients treated with cisplatin.