Combined Prophylactic Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy and Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Localized Gastroesophageal Junction and Gastric Cancer: A Comparative Nonrandomized Study.

BACKGROUND

The peritoneum frequently is the only recurrence site after radical resection of gastric cancer. Data suggest that hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) reduce peritoneal recurrence and possibly improve survival for patients with resected gastric and serosal involvement. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of combining prophylactic HIPEC and IORT after radical resection of localized gastric cancer.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, the medical records of adult patients with histologically proven gastric/gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma who underwent radical resection with curative intent were evaluated for recurrence and survival according to whether they received prophylactic HIPEC and IORT.

RESULTS

The eligibility criteria were met by 58 patients, 33 of whom underwent prophylactic HIPEC and IORT after radical surgery. Overall, 91% the HIPEC/IORT group and 72% of the surgery-only group had ≤pT3 disease. The median follow-up period was 26.6 months for the HIPEC/IORT group and 50.6 months for the surgery group. Locoregional recurrence occurred for six patients (18.1%) in the HIPEC/IORT group and five patients (20%) in the surgery-only group, with peritoneal metastasis (PM) occurring in respectively three (9%) and six (24%) patients. The median recurrence-free survival (RFS) duration was 23.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.5-39.9 months) for the HIPEC/IORT group versus 24.8 months (95% CI 0.0-51.1 months) for the surgery-only group (p = 0.88), and the corresponding 5-year overall survival (OS) estimates were 69% and 58%.

CONCLUSION

Prophylactic HIPEC and IORT after radical surgery for localized gastric or gastroesophageal cancer did not improve RFS or OS for an unselected group of patients at risk for peritoneal recurrence.