Relation between clinical and histologic outcome of intraperitoneal hyperthermic perfusion for patients with gastric cancer and peritoneal metastasis.

In 15 patients with refractory gastric cancer and peritoneal metastasis, the relationship among histologic outcome of intraperitoneal hyperthermic perfusion (IPHP), extent of peritoneal metastasis, and cause of death was studied. The IPHP treatment did not kill all the gastric cancer cells which had penetrated deeply into subperitoneal layers. In contrast, gastric cancer cells in the abdominal effusion and/or lavage vanished. Three patients with peritoneal metastasis, deeply invaded and spread all over the peritoneum, died of peritoneal recurrence and 1 died of pericardial metastasis. In the remaining 11 patients with a lesser extent of peritoneal metastasis, 5 are living without recurrence and among the other 6, 4 died of recurrence of the disease and 1 died of other causes.