Background: Cytoreductive surgery followed by intraperitoneal chemohyperthermia (IPCH) is a promising treatment for patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis, a disease with dismal prognosis.
Methods: We describe our preliminary experience with staged adjuvant laparoscopic IPCH after complete resection in patients with locally or regionally advanced colorectal or gastric cancer.
Results: Twenty-one patients underwent resection for colorectal (N = 16) or gastric cancer (N = 5) followed by staged laparoscopic IPCH. No conversion to laparotomy was required. No major operative incident occurred. Mean duration of hospital stay was 12 days (range 9-23 days). No mortality occurred in the 30-day postoperative period. Four patients developed major complications (19%). One patient (5%) was reoperated. Mean follow-up period was 15.5 months (range 9-29 months). Three patients died, including two of cancer-related causes. No patient developed peritoneal carcinomatosis during the follow-up period.
Conclusion: Staged laparoscopic adjuvant IPCH after open or laparoscopic resection in selected patients with colorectal or gastric cancer is feasible and reasonably safe. However, additional data are required to determine the effect on long-term survival.