Intra-Peritoneal Chemo-Hyperthermia (CHIP): a new therapy in the treatment of the peritoneal seedings. Preliminary report.

After an experimental study in dogs, authors report a new therapeutic device for peritoneal seedings (Intra-Peritoneal Chemo-Hyperthermia) and their preliminary results in five patients. They observed no mortality and no morbidity with this protocol using Mitomycin as antimitotic and hyperthermia as sensibilisation agent. This new technique means important technological and time investment but preliminary results appear to be encouraging and authors intend to standardize the present apparatus in order to go on using this device and obtain more experience.

[Treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis by intraperitoneal chemo-hyperthermia with mitomycin C. Initial experience]. / Traitement des carcinoses péritonéales par chimio-hyperthermie intra-péritonéale avec mitomycine C. Première expérience.

Intra-peritoneal chemo-hyperthermia with mitomycin C was used to treat 9 patients with very advanced gastrointestinal cancers with peritoneal seedings. Resection of the primary tumor was possible in 3 cases. After temporary of closure of the abdominal wall, 90 to 120 minutes of intra-peritoneal chemo-hyperthermia was performed under general anaesthesia with 32 degrees C of systemic hypothermia, via 3 intra-peritoneal drains forming a closed circuit, using 10 mg/l of mitomycin C in 61 of peritoneal dialysate warmed at the inflow temperature of 46 to 49 degrees C. We observed no mortality or morbidity. There were only minor and temporary laboratory side effects and for 6 patients, no malignant cells could be found in the ascitic fluid after intra-peritoneal chemo-hyperthermia. In six patients, we conserved an improvement in the Karnofsky index 3 to 7 months after intra-peritoneal chemo-hyperthermia. These results show that intraperitoneal chemo-hyperthermia with mitomycin C is a safe and reliable treatment for peritoneal seedings in severely advanced gastrointestinal cancers and encourage us to proceed with this new therapeutic modality.