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Heated chemotherapy boosts survival
Source: (cancerfacts.com)
Friday, November 03, 2006
BALTIMORE – Nov. 3, 2006 – Surgery immediately followed by heated chemotherapy delivered through the lower abdomen, may significantly increase survival of patients with advanced stage IV colorectal cancer, say a group of leading cancer surgeons.
The procedure, called hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), offers new hope for some of the most seriously ill colon cancer patients. The call for a change in practice was issued by a group of 72 leading oncology surgeons from 14 countries, including the United States.
The Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Group (PSMG) includes U.S. doctors from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa; Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington; and St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore. Such consensus statements often lead to a change in the standard of care. The consensus statement was published today on the Web site for the Annals of Surgical Oncology.
"HIPEC is an aggressive surgical treatment for end-stage cancer patients, with promising results," says Dr. Jesus Esquivel, lead author of the consensus statement and director of the peritoneal surface malignancy program at St. Agnes Healthcare in Baltimore. "This innovative therapy, with surgery, is helping to significantly improve, and extend the lives of patients who are in desperate need."
HIPEC involves the use of conventional chemotherapy drugs heated to such a high temperature as to kill cancer cells. Additionally, by bathing the abdomen with heated chemotherapy immediately following surgery, a higher dose of medication can be used than would normally be tolerated by a patient if given intravenously – the traditional way chemotherapy is administered.
Before releasing today's consensus statement, the PSMG reviewed several peer-reviewed clinical articles published by nationally renowned oncology researchers and surgeons to establish standardized methods to deliver HIPEC; define patient selection criteria; and improve surgical techniques.
Doctors estimate 30 percent of patients with advanced colon cancer would benefit from surgery with HIPEC. The published data on the treatment of patients with Stage IV colorectal cancer, with combinations of tumor removal surgery and chemotherapy, showed a median survival of greater than 20 months, compared to six-month survival with traditional intravenous chemotherapy alone.
Patients whose colon cancer recurs, and those with cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, involving the abdomen or peritoneal cavity, are the patients who benefited most from the combination of surgery followed by HIPEC.
Although not addressed in the consensus statement, surgical oncologists are using the treatment for patients with other forms of abdominal cancers, including pancreatic, ovarian, and gastric cancer.
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