A new clinical trial at The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is applying hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), a proven surgical technique, to ovarian cancer.
Removing the many tumors and clearing any remaining cancer cells in the peritoneum is a complex procedure. Conventional chemotherapy treatment, which sends drugs through the bloodstream, can affect many cells in the body and not just the tumor cells. Regional therapy, such as HIPEC, can kill cancer cells in a certain area of the body.
“Delivering chemotherapy directly into the abdomen allows us to give high doses of chemotherapy onto the surfaces of the abdominal organs, while avoiding high doses of chemotherapy circulating in the bloodstream,” Alissa Greenbaum, MD, says.
Greenbaum leads the HIPEC program at UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“Many studies are showing that when combined with other cancer treatments, HIPEC can help patients to live longer,” Greenbaum says.
Greenbaum and Carolyn Muller, MD cite a 2018 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study showed that ovarian cancer patients who received surgery with HIPEC lived an average of 12 months longer than those who received the standard surgery.
The clinical trial at UNM Cancer Center will compare the standard surgery to surgery with HIPEC. The study will look at whether people who receive surgery with HIPEC live longer than those who receive the standard surgery.
The clinical trial will also study the effects of maintenance therapy after surgery. And it will compare whether the disease returns and how long it takes to return.
The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center release on Newswise
