Current status of cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis from colorectal cancer

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) arising from colorectal cancer (CRC) is generally considered a terminal condition with no treatment options. However novel treatment strategies have emerged combining cytoreductive surgery (CRS), including peritonectomy procedures, with intraperitoneal chemotherapy. The intraoperative application of cytotoxic drugs combined with hyperthermia (hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy HIPEC]) has been considered to deliver cytotoxicity most effectively to peritoneal tumor implants. In selected groups of patients with no remaining macroscopic tumor manifestations on peritoneal surfaces after CRS and HIPEC, median survival times may reach 5 years, with a 5 year overall survival rate of 50%. HIPEC has been performed with different cytotoxic drugs, in combination with early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (EPIC), and embedded into various systemic perioperative and/or postoperative chemotherapeutic regimens. Prognosis largely depends on the intraabdominal tumor burden, which can be assessed by the peritoneal cancer index (PCI), and the completeness of cytoreduction. In this review we discuss the most relevant prognostic parameters, the outcome of patients with PC from CRC treated with CRS and HIPEC, and the impact of different chemotherapeutic variations used during HIPEC. From this analysis it can be concluded that CRS and HIPEC offers a chance for long-term survival in selected patients with PC of colorectal origin.