Intraperitoneal chemotherapy for the prevention of transitional cell carcinoma implantation

Tumor spillage from bladder perforation during transurethral resection of a bladder tumor or during cystectomy risks seeding the peritoneum with TCC. Current therapy is irrigation with sterile water with an unknown extent of clinical benefit. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy for other human cancers has demonstrable benefit but to our knowledge it has never been investigated for TCC. We investigated whether intraperitoneal chemotherapy can prevent TCC implantation in a murine model of tumor spillage and whether water irrigation is beneficial.

Laparotomy was performed in 28 Fischer 344 rats (National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland) to instill 1 x 10 AY-27 TCC cells. Mitomycin (10 mg/m) was instilled in 9 rats and saline was used in the control group. A third group underwent lavage with sterile water. At sacrifice after 2 weeks tumors were measured in mm and weighed. A followup experiment of 4-week survival used 5 mg/m mitomycin and added a fourth group treated with water lavage plus mitomycin.

All 9 rats in the saline control group had gross tumors at the laparotomy site as well as gross carcinomatosis. The 10 water lavage rats also demonstrated gross tumors but of smaller size (p = 0.02). All rats treated with mitomycin had no gross or microscopic evidence of tumor growth anywhere in the peritoneum. In experiment 2 none of the rats treated with lower dose mitomycin had gross or microscopic tumors regardless of water lavage.

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy prevents TCC implantation in a murine model of tumor spillage. Water lavage decreases the tumor burden but it cannot effectively sterilize the peritoneum of tumor.