Adjuvant Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Research Articles

The Role of Prophylactic and Adjuvant Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) in Prevention of Peritoneal Metastases in Advanced Colorectal Cancer.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a locoregional therapy that may be combined with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) to treat patients with colorectal cancer and peritoneal metastases (PM). In recent years, three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have investigated the role of prophylactic or adjuvant HIPEC in preventing the development of PM in patients with high-risk colorectal cancer: PROPHYLOCHIP and COLOPEC evaluated adjuvant HIPEC, and HIPECT4 studied concurrent HIPEC and CRS. Although PROPHYLOCHIP and COLOPEC were negative trials, a great deal may be learned from their methodology, outcome measures, and patient selection criteria. HIPECT4 is the first RCT to show a clinical benefit of HIPEC in high-risk T4 colorectal cancer, demonstrating improved locoregional disease control with the addition of HIPEC to CRS with no increase in the rate of complications. This review critically examines the strengths and limitations of each major trial and discusses their potential impact on the practice of HIPEC. Several additional ongoing clinical trials also seek to investigate the role of HIPEC in preventing PM in advanced colorectal cancer.

Adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in locally advanced colon cancer (HIPECT4): A randomized, phase 3 study

Adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in locally advanced colon cancer (HIPECT4): A randomized, phase 3 study

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) as adjuvant and therapeutic options for patients with advanced gastric cancer at high risk of recurrence or established peritoneal metastases: a single-centre experience.

Peritoneal metastases from gastric cancer (PM-GC) have a detrimental prognostic impact on survival and there is a lack of consensus regarding treatment. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) may offer a chance for prolonged survival as compared to standard chemotherapy. This study aims to present our experience in the management of GC with CRS and HIPEC. This is a single-centre retrospective study. Patients were divided into two groups: patients with GC at high risk for developing PM-GC (adjuvant HIPEC group) and patients with PM-GC or positive peritoneal cytology (therapeutic CRS and HIPEC group). Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were considered as outcome measures. A total of 41 patients with a GC primary received surgery and HIPEC: 14 patients (34.1%) were in the adjuvant HIPEC group, while 27 patients (65.9%) were in the therapeutic CRS and HIPEC group. In the adjuvant HIPEC group, the 1- and 3-year OS were 85.7% and 71.4%, while 1- and 3-year DFS were 71.4% and 64.3%, respectively. In the therapeutic CRS and HIPEC group, OS was 60.3% and 35.1% at 1 and 3 years, whereas 1- and 3-year DFS were 38% and 32.6%, respectively. Univariate survival analysis of patients in the therapeutic CRS and HIPEC group showed that the presence of lymph node metastasis and signet ring cell histology predicted worse OS, while PCI > 12 and lymph node metastasis were associated with decreased DFS. Treatment of highly selected patients with GC at high risk of peritoneal recurrence or established PM with CRS and HIPEC showed satisfactory results in terms of OS and DFS.

314O Adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in locally advanced colon cancer (HIPECT4): A randomized phase III study

Peritoneal metastasis in locally advanced colon cancer (T4 stage) is estimated around 25% at 3 years from surgical resection with a poor prognosis. There is controversy about the results using prophylactic hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in this group of patients. We led a randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy and safety of adjuvant HIPEC in patients with locally advanced colon cancer.

Role of Early Bedside HIPEC as Adjuvant Treatment in Colorectal Peritoneal Metastasis

Objectives: Peritoneal metastasis (PM) is a poor prognostic factor for all malignancies and remains difficult to treat with systemic chemotherapy because of poor peritoneal vascularization, resulting in limited drug delivery and penetration into tissues. Our study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of different locoregional treatment protocols with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), Early Peritoneal Chemotherapy (EPIC), Pressurized Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (PIPAC) in the management of advanced colorectal cancer with metachronous PM. Methods: A total of 42 patients were divided into three groups, as follows. Group A: After neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy, 15 patients received cytoreductive surgery (CRS) + hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and then adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. Group B: After neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy, 12 patients received CRS + HIPEC + early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy for 5 postoperative days and then adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. Group C: After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 15 patients received CRS + HIPEC and then an adjuvant bedside HIPEC on the 10th postoperative day combined with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: Patients in group A had a median overall survival (OS) of 33 months; however, log-rank tests showed that survival distributions of the three groups were not statistically significant different for both OS and disease-free survival. Conclusion: In conclusion, CRS plus HIPEC remains an alternative to locoregional treatment in well-selected patients with PM in combination with systemic neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy. Keywords: Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), Cytoreductive Surgery (CRS), Peritoneal Metastasis (PM), Colorectal Cancer (CRC), adjuvant treatment

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in prevention of gastric cancer metachronous peritoneal metastases: a systematic review.

Gastric cancer progression resulting in metachronous peritoneal metastasizing is almost always associated with an adverse prognosis. This review discusses various options of preventing metachronous peritoneal metastases in radically operated gastric cancer patients. Also examined are different hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) regimens employed in gastric cancer treatment, postoperative morbidity and mortality rates and long-term treatment outcomes. The authors also review their own experience of using HIPEC based on the combination of cisplatin and doxorubicin in doses of 50 mg/m2 at 42 °C for 1 h to prevent gastric cancer peritoneal dissemination. As a result, progression-free survival rose from 19.6%±5.6% to 47.1%±6.3% (Plog-rank <0.001) and dissemination-free survival-from 22.7%±6.0% to 51.9%±6.3% (Plog-rank <0.001). It is noted that the combination of the described HIPEC regimen with systemic chemotherapy helped raise metastases-free 3-year survival rate to up to 91.0%±9.0% (Plog-rank =0.025) compared with 48.6%±6.4% for patients who underwent only a combined surgery/HIPEC treatment. HIPEC is a promising combined treatment strategy for radically operated gastric cancer patients that can improve patient survival and decrease peritoneal dissemination rate. However, the number of randomized studies on adjuvant HIPEC are still insufficient for a subgroup assessment of efficacy of the given chemotherapy regimens and generation of evidence-based recommendations on the individual use of chemotherapy agents and their combinations, and HIPEC procedural techniques. Further prospective randomized studies are needed to assess the practicability of complementing HIPEC with adjuvant systemic chemotherapies.

Review of management and treatment of peritoneal metastases from gastric cancer origin.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the third cause of cancer-related deaths in the world, with less than 25% survivors at 5 years. These results are largely related to the high incidence of peritoneal metastases (PM) in these patients. Nowadays, the standard treatment for GC with PM is palliative systemic chemotherapy (SCT) with a survival of 6 months. From the 2000s, the combination of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has been gaining popularity for different neoplastic diseases that involve the peritoneal surface. The use of CRS and HIPEC has been studied for GC with PM, with promising results in selected patients, obtaining survival rates never seen before. Moreover, HIPEC and other intraperitoneal chemotherapy techniques have been used to prevent peritoneal recurrences in patients diagnosed on locally advanced GC without macroscopic PM (adjuvant or prophylactic HIPEC). Even, intraperitoneal chemotherapy [laparoscopic HIPEC and neoadjuvant intraperitoneal and systemic chemotherapy (NIPS)] has been used as neoadjuvant treatment to reduce peritoneal disease burden in order to improve the rate of patients in whom complete cytoreduction can be achieved. Finally, patients with high volume peritoneal disease can be treated by palliative intraperitoneal chemotherapy to control the symptoms resulting from malignant ascites, using laparoscopic HIPEC or pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC). This review aims to update the management of PM from GC origin in these different clinical scenarios, based on the literature and the experience of the authors.

Do we still need CRS and HIPEC in colorectal cancer in times of modern chemotherapy and immunotherapy?

SummaryPeritoneal carcinomatosis from colorectal cancer is associated with a poor prognosis and is usually treated with systemic chemotherapy and immunotherapy alone. In patients with isolated peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) without nonperitoneal metastases, however, cytoreductive surgery (CRS) has been shown to significantly improve outcome and to achieve even cure in selected patients in combination with systemic therapy. The additional use of a hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is primarily indicated to control microscopical residual tumor tissue in the peritoneal cavity after successful CRS. Another more recent option is the application of an adjuvant HIPEC to prevent peritoneal carcinomatosis in high risk patients with pT4 cancer or perforated cancer at the time of or after primary surgery. The aim of this short review is to highlight the corresponding available literature and assess the role of CRS and HIPEC in the context of modern chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Expanding Uses of HIPEC for Locally Advanced Colorectal Cancer: A European Perspective.

Locally advanced colorectal cancer is a challenge for surgeons and medical oncologist; 10 to 20% colorectal cancer debut as locally advanced disease, with tumors extending through the colon wall with perforation and/or invasion of adjacent organs or structures. Those locally advanced tumors have a worse prognostic at any stage due not only to systemic dissemination but also in a high percentage of patients, to locoregional recurrence, in fact, peritoneal carcinomatosis of colorectal origin is so predictable that we can assess the risk for each patient according to some histopathological and clinical features: small peritoneal nodules resected in the first surgery (70% probability), ovarian metastases (60%), perforated tumor onset or intraoperative tumor rupture (50%), positive cytology (40%), and pT4/mucinous pT3 up to 40%. Prophylactic or adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy seems to be a promising strategy for patients with advanced colorectal cancer to prevent the development of peritoneal recurrence and improve prognosis of this group of patients.

Adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patient with locally advanced colon cancer

Adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patient with locally advanced colon cancer

Colorectal peritoneal metastases: pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment options - an evidence-based update.

Peritoneal metastases confer the worst survival among all sites in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. They develop largely through transcoelomic spread, with a sequence of events that allow cells to first detach from primary tumours, survive in the peritoneal environment, attach to the peritoneal surface of organs and migrate into the submesothelial space to create a microenvironment conducive to metastatic growth. Diagnostic challenges have previously hindered early identification of peritoneal metastases. While advances in diagnostic modalities have improved our ability to identify peritoneal metastases, lesions under 0.5 cm remain challenging to detect. The advent of cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) can offer selected patients with colorectal peritoneal metastases a favourable long-term survival. Recent trials, however, have cast doubts on the efficacy of HIPEC, with the recent PRODIGE 7 trial showing no benefit from oxaliplatin based HIPEC in addition to good quality cytoreductive surgery in resectable disease. While peritoneal recurrence can be reliably predicted from high-risk features in primary tumours such as a perforated cancer, ovarian metastases or T4a cancers, the use of prophylactic second look surgery with HIPEC or adjuvant HIPEC failed to demonstrate any survival benefit in high-risk cases in recent clinical trials, raising further questions about the efficacy of HIPEC. With high failure rates from systemic chemotherapy in unresectable disease, novel surgical techniques such as pressurized intraperitoneal aerolized chemotherapy are being investigated in clinical trials worldwide. Further collaborative research is needed to explore newer avenues of treatment for this poor prognostic cohort.

Does hipec improve outcomes in gastric cancer patients treated with perioperative chemotherapy and radical surgery? A propensity-score matched analysis.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has been associated with improved survival when compared with surgery alone for non-metastatic gastric cancer patients in randomized trials and meta-analyses. However, little evidence is available regarding the use of HIPEC in nonmetastatic patients who are treated with perioperative chemotherapy and radical surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the putative survival benefit of HIPEC in the subgroup of gastric cancer patients treated with perioperative chemotherapy and surgery. This was a retrospective cohort study that included gastroesophageal junctionand gastric cancer patients who were treated with perioperative chemotherapy and curative resection in a single cancer center in the period between 2006 and 2017. In this time period, younger patients with diffuse-type tumors and serosa invasion or positive lymph node disease were often offered an adjuvant HIPEC protocol. This study compared the survival outcomes of these patients to the ones of those who received only perioperative chemotherapy and resection. A 2:1 propensity-score matched analysis for the two groups was also performed, and variables used were postchemotherapy T (ypT) and N (ypN) stages, histology and tumor site. The study population comprised 269 subjects, 241 treated with chemotherapy and surgery and 28 who also received HIPEC. The mean age was 59 years old (standard deviation: 12.2) and 60% of all individuals were male. A total gastrectomy was performed in 137 patients and a distal resection in 132, with a D2-lymphadenectomy in 97.4% of the sample. Overall 60-day morbidity and mortality rates were 35.3% and 3.3%, respectively. In the HIPEC group, patients were younger, and more frequently had American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) 1 to 2 classification, tumors located in the gastric body, had diffuse histology, and ypN+ disease. Overall survival (OS; 5 years) results in the HIPEC and no HIPEC group were 59.5% vs 68.7% (P = .453), and disease-free survival (DFS) ones were 49.5% and 65.8% (P = .060), respectively. In the multivariable Cox regression model, ypT and ypN were independent overall and DFS predictors; also, ASA 3 to 4 classification and diffuse histology were associated with worse OS. In the matched analysis, HIPEC did not improve either overall (53.5% vs 59.5%; P = .517) or DFS (50.0% vs 49.5%; P = .993). Treatment with HIPEC in patients who received perioperative chemotherapy and a D2-resection did not improve survival outcomes. Both ypT and ypN stages remained as the most important survival predictors in this cohort.

Rationality of performing hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy 5-8 weeks after primary tumor resection for patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer-based on COLOPEC

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has a unique effect on the prevention and treatment of peritoneal metastasis from malignancies. Recently, the first prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial of HIPEC to prevent the development of peritoneal metastasis after curative surgery for patients with locally advanced colon cancer was published in the "Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol" (COLOPEC). Regrettably, no significant difference was observed in 18-month peritoneal metastasis-free survival between postoperative adjuvant HIPEC and standard systemic chemotherapy for patients with T4 stage or perforated colon cancer. However, we wonder whether we might achieve better outcomes by further optimizing the following issues: (1) We propose that the inclusion criteria for that trial may not be entirely reasonable, which included pT4N0-2M0 and perforation. Additionally, we found that 91% of patients underwent HIPEC 5-8 weeks after primary tumor resection. (2) The imbalance in starting time of postoperative systemic chemotherapy between the two groups may have a negative impact.(3) Nine patients with peritoneal metastasis preceding HIPEC might weaken the potential efficacy of HIPEC. (4) We wonder whether HIPEC using high-dese oxaliplatin (460 mg/m(2)) perfusing 30 minutes for one cycle is the optimal regimen. Therefore, we are planning to conduct a randomized controlled trial (HIPEC-06) in accordcance with the characteristics of Chinese patients, to explore the clinical efficacy of curative surgery combined with HIPEC in the treatment of cT4 colorectal cancer.

Adjuvant Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) for patients at High-Risk of Peritoneal Metastases

BackgroundSelection of patients for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) continues to evolve. We hypothesized that adjuvant HIPEC for patients at high-risk of peritoneal progression is safe and associated with favorable outcomes. MethodsThe institutional database of a high-volume center was queried for patients with high-risk disease undergoing HIPEC with a peritoneal carcinomatosis index (PCI) of 0. High-risk patients were defined as those with ruptured primary tumors or locally advanced (T4) disease. Results37 patients underwent adjuvant HIPEC, with a median follow-up of 5.2 years. 54% had low-grade (LG) tumors while 46% had high-grade (HG) tumors. No patients underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy, while eleven patients (32.4%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. There were no perioperative mortalities, and the overall complication rate was 43%. For the entire cohort, five year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were 77% and 100%, respectively. Five year RFS and OS were 75% and 100% for LG patients and 81% and 100% for HG patients, respectively. ConclusionsAdjuvant HIPEC for patients at high-risk of peritoneal progression, with PCI 0, is safe and associated with favorable long-term survival. Additional prospective investigation is needed to identify patient populations who may benefit most from HIPEC.

Outcomes After Adjuvant Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for High-Risk Primary Appendiceal Neoplasms After Complete Resection.

Appendiceal neoplasms are uncommon tumors. Optimal treatment for patients with perforation or high-grade pathology after initial resection is unknown. This study evaluated patients with increased risk for peritoneal dissemination after primary resection, but no evidence of peritoneal disease, who underwent adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). This multi-institutional cohort study evaluated 56 patients with high-risk (HR) appendiceal neoplasms with a peritoneal carcinomatosis index of 0 who underwent HIPEC. The patients were divided into two groups: perforated low-grade appendiceal (LGA) carcinoma and HR neoplasms, which included perforated high-grade appendiceal carcinoma, positive margins after initial resection, minimal macroscopic peritoneal disease that was previously resected or completely responded to systemic chemotherapy prior to HIPEC, goblet cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma with signet ring cell features. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Thirty-eight percent of patients had perforated LGA and 68% had HR features. Five-year OS probability was 82.1% for the entire cohort, and 100% and 70.1% for patients with perforated LGA and HR features, respectively (p = 0.024). Five-year RFS probability was 79.3% for the entire cohort, and 90.0% and 72.4% for patients with perforated LGA and HR features, respectively (p = 0.025). Eight patients recurred after HIPEC and their OS was significantly worse (p < 0.001). While adjuvant HIPEC is both safe and feasible, there appears to be little benefit over close surveillance when outcomes are compared with historical and prospective studies, especially for perforated LGA carcinoma.

Adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced colon cancer (COLOPEC): a multicentre, open-label, randomised trial

Nearly a quarter of patients with locally advanced (T4 stage) or perforated colon cancer are at risk of developing peritoneal metastases, often without curative treatment options. We aimed to determine the efficacy of adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in patients with locally advanced colon cancer. This multicentre, open-label trial was done in nine hospitals that specialised in HIPEC in the Netherlands. Patients with clinical or pathological T4N0-2M0-stage tumours or perforated colon cancer were randomly assigned (1:1), with a web-based randomisation application, before resection of the primary tumour, to adjuvant HIPEC followed by routine adjuvant systemic chemotherapy (experimental group) or to adjuvant systemic chemotherapy alone (control group). Patients were stratified by tumour characteristic (T4 or perforation), age (<65 years or ≥65 years), and surgical approach of the primary tumour resection (laparoscopic or open). Key eligibility criteria included age between 18 and 75 years, adequate clinical condition for HIPEC, and intention to start adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. Patients with metastatic disease were ineligible. Adjuvant HIPEC consisted of fluorouracil (400 mg/m2) and leucovorin (20 mg/m2) delivered intravenously followed by intraperitoneal delivery of oxaliplatin (460 mg/m2) for 30 min at 42°C, delivered simultaneously or within 5-8 weeks after primary tumour resection. In all patients without evidence of recurrent disease at 18 months, a diagnostic laparoscopy was done. The primary endpoint was peritoneal metastasis free-survival at 18 months, measured in the intention-to-treat population, with the Kaplan-Meier method. Adverse events were assessed in all patients who received assigned treatment. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02231086. Between April 1, 2015, and Feb 20, 2017, 204 patients were randomly assigned to treatment (102 in each group). In the HIPEC group, two patients withdrew consent after randomisation. In this group, 19 (19%) of 100 patients were diagnosed with peritoneal metastases: nine (47%) during surgical exploration preceding intentional adjuvant HIPEC, eight (42%) during routine follow-up, and two (11%) during diagnostic laparoscopy at 18-months. In the control group, 23 (23%) of 102 patients were diagnosed with peritoneal metastases, of whom seven (30%) were diagnosed by laparoscopy at 18-months and 16 during regular follow-up (therefore making them ineligible for diagnostic laparoscopy). In the intention-to-treat analysis (n=202), there was no difference in peritoneal-free survival at 18-months (80·9% [95% CI 73·3-88·5] for the experimental group vs 76·2% [68·0-84·4] for the control group, log-rank one-sided p=0·28). 12 (14%) of 87 patients who received adjuvant HIPEC developed postoperative complications and one (1%) encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis. In patients with T4 or perforated colon cancer, treatment with adjuvant HIPEC with oxaliplatin did not improve peritoneal metastasis-free survival at 18 months. Routine use of adjuvant HIPEC is not advocated on the basis of this trial. Organization for Health Research and Development and the Dutch Cancer Society.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy with cisplatin and mitomycin C for colorectal cancer peritoneal metastases: A systematic review of the literature.

BackgroundThe randomized trial PRODIGE 7 failed to show the benefit of oxaliplatin hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in colorectal peritoneal metastasis treatment (CR PM). This systematic review focuses on the association of cisplatin (CDDP) with mitomycin C (MMC) in HIPEC in CR PM.ContentExperimental studies demonstrated that hyperthermia, in addition to CDDP ± MMC treatment, gradually improved the cytotoxic effect by increasing early apoptosis, eATP interaction, intracellular CDDP concentration (by 20%) and p73 expression. Recent studies with highly selected patients reported unusual prolonged survival with a median overall survival (OS) of approximately 60 months, with a HIPEC combination of CDDP (25 mg/m2/L) plus MMC (3.3 mg/m2/L) at a temperature of 41.5–42.5 °C for 60–90 min. Major complications occurred in less than 30% of patients with limited hematological toxicity (less than 15%). In addition, in a phase 2 trial, an adjuvant HIPEC benefit was demonstrated in colorectal cancer patients with high risk for peritoneal failure (5-year OS: 81.3% vs. 70% for the HIPEC group vs. the control group, respectively, p=0.047). After a recurrence, an iterative procedure permitted similar recurrence-free disease (13 vs. 13.7 months) with an acceptable morbidity (18.7% of severe complications).Summary and outlookThe combination of CDDP and MMC seems to be an interesting protocol as an alternative to high-dose and short-term oxaliplatin.

Adjuvant HIPEC in patients with colon cancer at high risk of peritoneal metastases: Primary outcome of the COLOPEC multicenter randomized trial.

482 Background: Patients with T4 or perforated colon cancer are at high risk (~25%) of peritoneal metastases (PM). Sensitivity of imaging modalities for PM is limited and the majority of patients is diagnosed in a palliative setting. This provides a rationale for adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). In this study, the effectiveness of adjuvant HIPEC in reducing the risk of PM was determined. Methods: In this multicenter trial, patients with T4 (either cT4 or pT4, N0-2, M0) or perforated colon cancer, who underwent curative resection were randomized to adjuvant HIPEC followed by routine adjuvant systemic chemotherapy or to adjuvant systemic chemotherapy alone (1:1). Adjuvant HIPEC with oxaliplatin was performed simultaneously (9%) or within five-eight weeks (91%) after the primary tumor resection. Patients without evidence of recurrent disease at 18 months based on CT imaging underwent diagnostic laparoscopy in both arms. The primary endpoint was PM free survival (PMFS) at 18 months using Kaplan Meier analysis. Results: Between April 2015 and January 2017, 204 patients were randomized: 102 in the control arm (0 drop-outs), 102 in the experimental arm (two drop-outs). Surgical exploration at the start of the HIPEC procedure at five-eight weeks postoperatively revealed metastases in 11 patients (PM in 9/11) in the experimental arm, and adjuvant HIPEC was not applied. Adjuvant systemic chemotherapy was administered in 89/100 eligible patients after median 6 weeks (IQR 5-7) in the control arm and in 84/89 after 10 weeks (IQR 9-12) in the experimental arm. PM rate after completion of 18 months follow-up was 22/102 and 18/100, respectively. In the ITT analysis no difference in 18 months PMFS was observed: 77% (control) versus 81% (experimental), HR 0.836 (0.489-1.428)). Also, no differences were observed in 18 months DFS (HR 1.016 (0.646-1.598)) and OS (HR 1.139 (0.532-2.439)). One patient developed encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis after HIPEC. Conclusions: Adjuvant HIPEC with oxaliplatin for patients with T4 or perforated colon cancer does not result in improved 18 months PMFS. Long-term results have to be awaited to assess the role of HIPEC in the adjuvant setting. Clinical trial information: NCT02231086.

Adjuvant Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Colon Cancer; the COLOPEC Randomized Trial

Background: Patients with locally advanced (T4) or perforated colon cancer are at high risk (~25%) of developing peritoneal metastases (PM), often without curative treatment options. In this study, the effectiveness of adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in reducing the development of PM was determined. Methods: In this multicentre non-blinded superiority trial, patients with c/pT4N0-2M0 or perforated colon cancer were randomized to adjuvant HIPEC followed by routine adjuvant systemic chemotherapy or to adjuvant systemic chemotherapy alone. Adjuvant HIPEC with oxaliplatin (460mg/m2, 30 minutes, 42°C, concurrent 5-FU/LV iv) was performed simultaneously (9%) or within 5-8 weeks (91%) after primary tumour resection. In all patients without evidence of recurrent disease at 18 months, a diagnostic laparoscopy was performed. The primary endpoint was PM free survival (PMFS) at 18 months. Findings: Between April 2015 and January 2017, 204 patients were randomized, 102 in each arm. In the control arm, 23 patients were diagnosed with PM, of which 7 by 18 months laparoscopy. In the experimental arm, 19 patients were diagnosed with PM, of which 9 during surgical exploration preceding intentional adjuvant HIPEC, 8 during routine follow-up and 2 by 18 months laparoscopy. In the intention to treat analysis (n=202), no difference in 18 months PMFS was observed; 76% (control) vs. 81% (experimental), HR 0·86 (0·51-1·45). After adjuvant HIPEC, 14% of patients developed postoperative complications and encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis occurred in one. PM were treated with cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC in 15/23 and 13/19 patients in the control and experimental arm, respectively. Interpretation: No superiority of adjuvant HIPEC with oxaliplatin could be demonstrated regarding 18 months PMFS in patients with T4 or perforated colon cancer. Trial registration number: NCT02231086 (Clinicaltrials.gov). Funding Statement: Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) and the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF). Declaration of Interest: The authors have nothing to declare. Ethical Approval Statement: The Amsterdam UMC was the coordinating centre and approval of the protocol was obtained from its institutional review board.

Laparoscopic gastrectomy and adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) using a closed system with turbulent-flow circuit: technical aspects and preliminary results of a pilot study

Intraoperative hyperthermic chemotherapy (HIPEC) is increasingly used in combination with cytoreductive surgery for the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis. The potential survival benefit of adjuvant HIPEC after curative gastrectomy has not been conclusively demonstrated. We describe a newly developed closed system for HIPEC and report the preliminary results of a pilot study. Patients with locally advanced gastric carcinoma at a high risk for peritoneal recurrence were identified from a prospectively collected database. Laparoscopic total or subtotal gastrectomy combined with standard D2 lymphadenectomy was performed. Immediately after resection and 15 min before HIPEC treatment, intravenous induction chemotherapy with folinic acid and 5‑fluorouracil was administered. A closed-system HIPEC with turbulent-flow circuit (Combat PRS™, Peritoneum Recirculation System, Galmaz Biotech, Madrid, Spain) was used to perfuse the peritoneal cavity with a solution of oxaliplatin and glucose during 60 min. After washout of the peritoneal cavity and re-establishment of pneumoperitoneum, a Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy or gastrojejunostomy was performed. Between June 2017 and February 2018, 6 patients were treated according to this protocol. No major postoperative complications occurred. There were no intra- or postoperative complications related to the HIPEC procedure. All patients are alive and disease-free at 3–11 months of follow-up. The preliminary results of this pilot study indicate the safety and feasibility of the closed HIPEC system with CO2 recirculation in selected patients undergoing laparoscopic total or subtotal gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric carcinoma.