Intraperitoneal hyperthermic perfusion combined with surgery effective for gastric cancer patients with peritoneal seeding.

Fifteen patients with far-advanced gastric cancer were given surgical treatment followed by intraperitoneal hyperthermic perfusion (IPHP) with mitomycin C (MMC) and misonidazole (MIS), a thermosensitizing drug. Immediately after extensive resection of the abdominal tumors, a 2-hour IPHP was performed at the inflow temperature of 44.7 to 48.7 C, using equipment designed for treatment of cancerous peritoneal seeding as a closed circuit, and under hypothermic general anesthesia at 30 to 31 C. In nine of the 15 patients with peritoneal seeding and/or ascites, cancerous ascites was absent after this treatment. In all cases, repeated cytologic examinations of the lavage from Douglas's pouch were negative. The postoperative courses were uneventful except for Patients 1 and 10, in whom slight leakage occurred. All patients were discharged and are in good health at the time of this writing, 7.2 +/- 4.6 months after the treatment. The Case 4 Patient recently died in a traffic accident. In all patients, transient hepatic dysfunction and hypoproteinemia occurred after the operation. This extensive surgery combined with IPHP using MMC and MIS was well tolerated and is a safe antitumor treatment for gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination. Neurotoxicity due to MIS was nil.