Repeated intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal dissemination from gastric carcinoma

Repeated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (RIC) via an i.p. port system was carried out in 16 patients with peritoneal dissemination (P1) and in 10 with positive washing cytology (P0.CY1) from gastric carcinoma. CDDP dissolved in 500-1,000 ml of physiological saline solution was periodically administered via the i.p. port system. The change of washing cytology (CY), which was obtained from i.p. port, was examined before each administration as a indicator of the response. The average number of administrations was 5.7 and the average total dose was 301.7 mg. As a result, a negative change of CY after RIC was found in 74% of patients, and also more than 80% of the response occurred within three administrations. The prognosis tended to be better in P0.CY1 patients than in P1 patients. In particular, the median survival time of the CY responders markedly improved as compared with non-responders (27.8 months versus 7.1 months). Although diarrhea and anorexia of grade 3 developed once in each patient, serious toxicities were not found. In conclusion, we consider RIC to be an effective therapy for P0.CY1 among cases with peritoneal dissemination from gastric carcinoma.