When we see patients in our offices with metastatic colon cancer which is confined to the peritoneal cavity and the histology of the cancer shows mucinous carcinoma, we consider not only chemotherapy but also think about specialized surgery to remove the cancer in the abdomen and combine this with hyperthermia and chemotherapy given directly into the cavity during surgery.

Why is that? Read the rest of this entry »

Over half of patients whose colorectal cancer had spread to their abdominal cavity were alive five years after treatment in a French center with surgery and heated chemo.  This was substantially better than those who only received modern chemotherapies without surgery.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis is diagnosed when cancer spreads into the abdominal cavity and tumors develop on the surface of abdominal organs.  In the past peritoneal carcinomatosis has been a difficult condition to treat with very poor results from chemotherapy.  However, surgery to remove all signs of tumor followed by washing the open abdomen after surgery with heated chemotherapy is achieving some remarkable results. Read the rest of this entry »