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Toxicity of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intra-peritoneal chemotherapy
Vic J Verwaal1, Harm van Tinteren, Serge V Ruth
1Department of Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands. v.verwaal@nki.nl
Background And Objectives:
Cytoreduction with hyperthermic intra-peritoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a treatment with a high morbidity. Optimal patients selection can possible reduce toxicity and complications.
Patients And Methods:
Complications and toxicity of 102 patients were studied. Toxicity was graded according National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria (NCI CTC) classification. A complication was defined as any post-operative event that needed re-intervention. Potential patients, tumor, and treatment factors were studied on their relation to complications.
Results:
Grade 3, 4, or 5 toxicity was observed in 66 patients (65%). Eight patients died of treatment-related causes. Surgical complications occurred in 36 patients (35%). Fistulae were frequently encountered (18 patients). The risk of a complicated recovery was higher in carcinomatosis with recurrent colorectal cancer (P = 0.009) and in the case of more than five regions affected (P = 0.044), who had a Simplified Peritoneal Cancer (SPC) score of 13 (P = 0.012) and with an incomplete initial cytoreduction (P = 0.035). Patients with blood loss exceeding 6 L (P = 0.028) and those with three or more anastomoses also had an increased post-operative complication rate (P = 0.018).
Conclusions:
Toxicity of cytoreduction followed by HIPEC was 65% (Grade 3-5 NCI CTC), with a surgical complication rate of 35%. Patients with six or seven regions involved and those in whom complete cytoreduction cannot be reached are probably better off without this treatment.
