TREATMENT OF MALIGNANT PERITONEAL EFFUSION IN DIGESTIVE AND OVARIAN-CANCER

Intra Peritoneal Chemo Hyperthermia (IPCH) with Mitomycin C (MMC) or C isplatinum (CP) was used to treat 32 patients with far advanced digest ive or ovarian cancers and peritoneal carcinomatosis. Surgical resecti on of the primary tumor has been possible in 18 cases. After closure o f the abdominal wall, a 90 minutes IPCH was performed under general an aesthesia and 32-degrees-C general hypothermia, through 3 intraperiton eal drainages realizing a closed circuit, using 10 mg/l of MMC or 15 t o 25 mg/l of CP in 6 1 of peritoneal dialysate heated at the inflow te mperature of 46 to 49-degrees-C. The mortality rate was 3% and the mor bidity rate was 3%. In 11 out of 12 patients with preoperative maligna nt ascites, no more ascites could be found after IPCH. For peritoneal carcinomatosis from digestive origin, median survival was 11.2 months and 1 year survival rate was 46.9%. These encouraging preliminary resu lts show that IPCH is a safe and reliable treatment for peritoneal car cinomatosis in far advanced digestive or ovarian cancers.