Intraperitoneal Therapy for Ovarian Cancer - Some Answers, More Questions, and Missed Opportunities

Intraperitoneal (i.p.) therapy set a new treatment standard for patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer in 2006 based on data showing improved overall survival in the trial by Armstrong et al.¹ This trial showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in median overall survival of almost 16 months in favor of patients treated with i.p. chemotherapy compared with an intravenous approach. Since then, several clinical trials have aimed to better understand what population of patients are most likely to benefit from this therapy. Will patients with earlier-stage disease or suboptimal cytoreduction after surgery benefit? Does tumor histology matter?