Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for gynecological cancer

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a method of administering anticancer agents directly while heating the abdominal cavity. The aim of this review is to know the current position of HIPEC in ovarian cancer and uterine sarcoma and its future prospects.

This article reviews the current literature and evidence for the clinical trial of HIPEC in ovarian cancer and uterine sarcoma with consideration of the cases treated in our department.

In January 2018, van Driel et al. reported the results of their phase 3, randomized, controlled trial and the usefulness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery. With respect to greater than grade 3 complications, such as suture failure, intestinal perforation, postoperative bleeding, wound issues and death, there were no significant differences between the HIPEC group and the no-HIPEC group. In a meta-analysis including two randomized, controlled studies and 11 observational studies in 2019, the addition of HIPEC to cytoreductive surgery significantly improved overall survival of ovarian cancer patients. Moreover, growing evidence of the efficacy of cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC has also been reported in uterine sarcoma with peritoneal sarcomatosis in a multi-institutional study. HIPEC could be one of the new therapeutic strategies for such disseminated peritoneal lesions.

Since the usage regimen and temperature setting of HIPEC are not standardized, and its effectiveness and adverse events are greatly affected by the time of administration, it is necessary to consider clinical trials for the optimization and establishment of HIPEC in Japan in the future.