Discrepancy between recommendations regarding hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in ovarian cancer management: a narrative review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is still controversial in ovarian cancer (OC) management. Doubts are related mainly to HIPEC effectiveness, but also to its safety. European Society of Medical Oncology and European Society of Gynecologic Oncology do not consider HIPEC as a standard of care. Opposite to European recommendations, National Comprehensive Cancer Network found HIPEC as a treatment option in patients undergoing interval debulking surgery in first-line treatment. This may be confusing for oncologists in clinical practice. The aim of this narrative review is to present literature review focusing on efficacy, confounding factors, complications and immunological issue of HIPEC in OC management. METHODS: PubMed was searched for meta-analyses, randomized trials, observational studies, experimental studies to outline the role of HIPEC in OC management since January 2015 until August 2023. Keywords included "hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy", "HIPEC", "ovarian cancer", "immune response". References from full-text articles were screened for additional studies. KEY CONTENT AND FINDINGS: Most meta-analyses found that HIPEC improved survival in patients with OC and none of the meta-analyses showed that addition HIPEC to surgery was associated with a worse treatment outcome compared to surgery alone. Positive effect on treatment outcome was found more common in first-line treatment than recurrent disease. Positive effect on treatment outcome was more common in first-line treatment (especially during interval debulking surgery) than recurrent disease. HIPEC efficacy can be affected by patients' characteristics (BRCA status, platinum sensitivity), cytostatic type and dose, intensity of hyperthermia and peritoneal flow characteristics. Apart from strict cytotoxic effect, HIPEC can induce anti-cancer immune response. CONCLUSIONS: Although factors confounding HIPEC efficacy are not well-defined, survival improvement, related to addition HIPEC to surgery in OC, was observed. Future studies should focus on determining a subgroup of patients, who benefit from HIPEC. This will contribute to the unification of European and American recommendations.

The association of first trimester bleeding with preterm delivery.

INTRODUCTION: Preterm birth (PTB) is a predictor of perinatal morbidity and mortality, and prematurity continues to burden public healthcare with growing expenses. First trimester bleeding (FTB) has a well-known association with PTB; however, the relationship with severity of PTB is less obvious. AIM: The primary aim of the study was to analyze the influence of FTB on the risk and severity of PTB, as well as to assess the connection of FTB and other pregnancy complications. METHODS: It was an observational case control study. The material consisted of medical records of patients who delivered between 2010 and 2013. Two groups were formed - 497 women with FTB and 500 women without bleeding. RESULTS: Women with FTB were more likely to deliver preterm in general (OR=2.11; 95% CI 1.43-3.10). The risk of extremely PTB (<28 weeks) was almost four-fold (OR=3.76; 95% CI 0.97-17.06) and very PTB (28-31 weeks) more than three-fold (OR=3.41; 95% CI 0.86-15.69). FTB increased the risk of placenta previa (OR=4.81; 95% CI 1.29-20.53; P=0.007). CONCLUSION: FTB is a risk factor of PTB and is associated with greater risk of PTB-related pregnancy complications. Management of FTB pregnancies should include thorough screening for both preterm delivery and placental pathologies.