REGIONAL CHEMOTHERAPY (WITH MITOMYCIN-C) AND INTRAOPERATIVE HYPERTHERMIA FOR DIGESTIVE CANCERS WITH PERITONEAL CARCINOMATOSIS

Intraperitoneal chemo-hyperthermia with mitomycin C was used to treat 28 patients with far advanced digestive adenocarcinoma and histologica lly confirmed peritoneal carcinomatosis. Surgical resection of the pri mary tumor was possible in 17 cases. After closure of the abdominal wa ll, intraperitoneal chemo-hyperthermia was performed for 90 to 120 min utes under general anesthesia and 32 degrees C hypothermia, through 3 intraperitoneal drains forming a closed circuit, using 10 mg/1 of mito mycin C in 6 liters of peritoneal dialysate heated to an inflow temper ature of 46-49 degrees C. No mortality occurred, and there were 2 post -operative complications, with transitory biological side effects. In 9 out of 10 patients with preoperative malignant ascites, the ascites cleared after treatment. One-year survival rate was 54.2 %. These enco uraging preliminary results show that intraperitoneal chemohyperthermi a with mitomycin C is a safe and reliable treatment for peritoneal car cinomatosis in far advanced digestive cancers.