Time will tell whether this treatment approach [hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion] has made a difference in median or long-term outcome.

— Daniel G. Coit, MD

Tweet this quote

“While these results are clearly superior to historical controls, the study prompts a number of questions,” session moderator, ­Daniel G. Coit, MD, a surgical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, commented in an interview.

“Nearly half of the patients received systemic therapy between hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion sessions, and as such, it is difficult to estimate how much of the observed results were due to hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion alone,” he elaborated. “The second question is about the decision to proceed with gastrectomy in those patients with a complete response to hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion: How much tumor was found in the surgical specimens? How would these patients have fared if managed with maintenance chemotherapy? Most important, what is the longer-term outcome in these patients, in terms of patterns of recurrence and survival?”

“This is an interesting and provocative study whose results need to be validated in larger controlled trials, with longer follow-up,” Dr. Coit concluded. “Time will tell whether this treatment approach has made a difference in median or long-term outcome.” ■

Disclosure: Dr. Coit reported no potential conflicts of interest.