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Largest Study Shows HIPEC Treatment Effective for Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink
Largest Study Shows HIPEC Treatment Effective for Mesothelioma

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) could be an effective treatment for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM).

This is the finding of one of the largest and longest studies on the use of CRS-HIPEC to treat MPM. Researchers from the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center looked at data from 111 patients over 28 years.

Diagnosed with MPM

MPM is an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos. Symptoms of MPM are usually noticed first in the abdomen or the gastrointestinal system. People might feel abdominal pain or swelling, fever, and night sweats.

MPM occurs in less than 1,000 people in the United States every year and accounts for about 20-25% of all mesothelioma cases. Patients diagnosed with MPM have longer life expectancy than those with other types of mesothelioma and some studies report patients live up to 5 years after treatment.

Surgery and Chemotherapy

CRS-HIPEC is a treatment that involves surgery and chemotherapy. It is often used to treat MPM. During the CRS-HIPEC procedure, chemotherapy drugs are heated and then delivered directly into the abdominal cavity, where the cancer is located. The heat helps to increase the effectiveness of the chemotherapy and may also help to kill any remaining cancer cells.

CRS-HIPEC may be given only once or can be repeated as many times as the doctor thinks is necessary.

The Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center has been treating MPM for over 30 years. Researchers from this center looked at MPM patient data from 1993 to 2021 who were treated with CRS-HIPEC. They looked at whether CRS-HIPEC improved survival outcomes for these patients.

The study found that CRS-HIPEC improved survival rates, especially if patients survived for one year after the surgery. The median survival rate was 3.3 years across all patients, with some patients living up to 10 years after treatment.

If patients survived three years after treatment, the median survival improved to over 6 years. The researchers in this study concluded that CRS-HIPEC is an effective treatment for MPM.

Source

Valenzuela CD, Solsky IB, Erali RA, et al. Long-Term Survival in Patients Treated with Cytoreduction and Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Peritoneal Mesothelioma at a Single High-Volume Center [published online ahead of print, 2023 Feb 8]. Ann Surg Oncol. 2023;10.1245/s10434-022-13061-3. doi:10.1245/s10434-022-13061-3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36754945/

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