Second-look Surgery after Cytoreduction and Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis from Colorectal Cancer: Analysis of Prognostic Features

p = 0.04) and the completeness of resection at the time of the second look ( p = 0.066). In addition, a limited extent of peritoneal carcinomatosis distribution found at the time of the second look predicted a favorable result. A new objective assessment of peritoneal carcinomatosis, the peritoneal cancer index, was found to be of help during patient selection ( p = 0.066). We concluded that second-look surgery with potential curative intent should be considered in patients who had a complete initial cytoreduction and those in whom total removal of the recurrence is judged possible at the time of the second look. At the time of abdominal exploration, a limited distribution and volume of peritoneal carcinomatosis as defined by the peritoneal cancer index should be considered. Palliative debulking procedures should be used to alleviate symptoms in other patients.RID=" ID=" <E5>Correspondence to:</E5> P.H. Sugarbaker, M.D.