Outcome in Patients Treated With Cytoreductive Surgery and HIPEC for Gastric Cancer With Peritoneal Carcinomatosis

Abstract

Background/aim: We compared patients with advanced gastric cancer [Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) III] versus patients with stage UICC IV and peritoneal carcinomatosis treated with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) versus patients with stage UICC IV treated without HIPEC to ascertain if CRS and HIPEC improve overall survival (OS).

Patients and methods: We retrospectively analysed thirty-seven advanced gastric cancer patients who had been treated at our department from 2012 to 2017. The endpoint was median OS.

Results: Eighteen (49%) patients with UICC stage III showed a median OS of 37.4 months. Eight (21%) patients in the HIPEC group reached a median OS of 33.8 months. Median OS in the UICC IV group (11 patients, 30%) treated with a palliative concept was 6.2 months and therefore significantly worse (p=0.004).

Conclusion: A systemic approach combined with CRS and HIPEC in selected stage IV gastric cancer patients improves the OS comparable to patients in UICC stage III.

Keywords: Gastric cancer; HIPEC; cytoreductive surgery; peritoneal carcinomatosis.