New treatments and outcomes in peritoneal carcinomatosis

Evidence-based therapies offer hope of prolonged survival for selected patients with this disease

There is now a substantial body of published evidence of the survival benefits conferred by cytoreductive surgery (peritonectomy) and perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy comprising hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy and early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy for the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis. The technique of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy is described in the Box. Here, we, the clinicians at the St George Hospital Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program, who have had more than 12 years of experience in this treatment, provide a review of this topic.