Currently the best prognosis for patients with cancer occurs when the cancer is detected early enough to be removed surgically. Many patients, however, present to their physician with tumors too advanced to be removed, or the tumor recurs after surgery. Despite numerous recent advances in chemotherapy, the overall chance of chemotherapy being curative is still low, and the side effects are difficult for the patient.
In HIPEC, the chemotherapeutic agent
is circulated through the affected region
at a very high concentration,
with minimal to no exposure
to the rest of the body.
Many tumors too advanced for surgical removal remain confined to a single organ or region of the body. For these cancers, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) may be an option. In HIPEC, practitioners circulate a chemotherapeutic agent through the affected region at a very high concentration, with minimal to no exposure to the rest of the body. In this way, the normal side effects of chemotherapy can be completely avoided. The perfusion circuit allows for the use of hyperthermia (or heating the agent well above what would be the temperature in standard chemotherapy) which improves drug absorption and effect.
Isolated limb perfusion is associated with a 78 to 100 percent overall response rate in patients with advanced melanoma. In HIPEC, the normal side effects of chemotherapy can be completely avoided.
