Peritoneal cancer is often a difficult-to-treat, advanced form of invasive cancer that has spread from another tumor. Most peritoneal carcinomatosis tumors don't shrink significantly in response to chemotherapy. Therefore, many doctors focus on palliative care to manage symptoms, relieve pain, and improve quality of life. Unfortunately, treatment options are limited. Treating the underlying cancer that caused the peritoneal carcinomatosis is essential.

One treatment approach, offered at many centers, involves cytoreductive surgery (removing all visible tumor in the abdomen), the removal of cancerous organs, and the administration of specially prepared heated chemotherapy into the abdomen during the same surgery.

This procedure, called cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), provides significant benefits to patients with ovarian, appendix, and peritoneal cancers. Patients with colorectal cancer experience moderate benefits. However, there is no significant benefit observed in patients with stomach, pancreatic, or liver cancers.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), or heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy, is frequently used in cancer treatment in recent years. HIPEC is performed to prolong life expectancy and improve quality of life. In abdominal cancers, the tumor can spread to the peritoneum. In advanced stages of the cancer, this may result in intravenously administered drugs being ineffective. Therefore, HIPEC is used when other treatments are insufficient. HIPEC is not performed for cancers that have metastasized to organs outside the abdomen (e.g., brain, bones, lungs).

Peritonectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the peritoneum. This involves cleaning the peritoneum and affected organs to remove as much tumor from the abdomen as possible. This procedure is called “cytoreductive surgery + peritonectomy”.