Colorectal carcinomatosis: a new oncologic frontier.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

In the past, carcinomatosis from colorectal cancer was determined to be a lethal condition with a short survival.

RECENT FINDINGS

A new treatment strategy starts with cytoreductive surgery in an attempt to remove all visible evidence of cancer implants. Then, chemotherapy is used in the operating room with moderate hyperthermia (41-43 degrees C) in an attempt to eradicate microscopic residual disease. Multiple phase II, a phase III, and a multi-institutional phase II study of 503 patients showed that approximately one-third of these patients can survive long term.

SUMMARY

The expansion of treatment options, including cytoreductive surgery followed by chemotherapy with hyperthermia, to a larger number of patients is appropriate.