Clinical pharmacology of intraperitoneal cisplatin-based chemotherapy

The management of intraperitoneal tumors, especially when confined to the peritoneal cavity and/or associated with malignant ascites, requires the use of intraperitoneal (i.p.) cisplatin-based chemotherapy. This therapeutic approach, enabling high concentrations of drug and long duration of tumor tissue exposure, while generating a systemic exposure similar to that obtained with intravenous (i.v.) infusion, significantly improves therapeutic ratio. Nowadays, as feasibility issues are easy to overcome, intraperitoneal chemotherapy provides a safe, effective treatment for the management of peritoneal disease, particularly ovarian carcinoma. In this paper we review pharmacological issues of intraperitoneal cisplatin-based chemotherapy in order to provide a ready to use information collection for clinical practice and ongoing research.