Does hyperthermic intraoperative chemotherapy lead to improved outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer? A single center cohort study in 111 consecutive patients

Abstract

Abstract Background For recurrent disease or primary therapy of advanced ovarian cancer, cytoreductive surgery (CRS) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is a therapeutic option. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer treated with hyperthermic intraoperative chemotherapy (HIPEC) and completeness of cytoreduction (CC). Methods Data were retrospectively collected from 111 patients with recurrent or primary ovarian cancer operated with the contribution of visceral surgical oncologists between 1991 and 2006 in a tertiary referral hospital. Results Ninety patients received CRS and 21 patients CRS plus HIPEC with cisplatin. Patients with complete cytoreduction (CC0) were more likely to receive HIPEC. Overall, 19 of 21 patients (90.5 %) with HIPEC and 33 of 90 patients (36.7 %) with CRS had a complete cytoreduction (P Conclusions Completeness of cytoreduction was proved to be crucial for long-term outcome. HIPEC procedures in ovarian cancer should be performed in clinical trials to compare CRS, HIPEC and systemic chemotherapy against CRS with systemic chemotherapy. Concerning the safety of HIPEC with cisplatin, the risk of persistent renal failure must be considered when dosage is based on body surface.

Keywords

• Cytoreductive surgery
• Peritonectomy
• Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy
• Epithelial ovarian cancer
• Peritoneal carcinomatosis