What is Hot Chemotherapy?
Hot Chemotherapy for Advanced Stage Cancer
Hot chemotherapy is referred to as Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in medicine. In a number of recurrent or appropriate advanced cancer types, certain amounts of cancer drugs are heated using special medical devices, after which visible tumors are removed by surgery for a certain period of time. Then it is administered into the abdomen and the abdomen is washed. This application has recently become prominent especially in advanced cancer applications. Today, it is used in many places including colon cancer, appendix cancer and ovarian cancer. In this respect, cytoreduction HIPEC brings new hope to many patients.
Who Can Receive Hot Chemotherapy?
Hot chemotherapy is now used for many types of cancer. It is especially suitable for ovarian cancer, colon-rectum cancer, cancers of the intra-abdominal lining, which are in the fourth stage at the time of initial diagnosis or recurrence, are limited to the abdomen and are thought to be completely removed. In addition, hot chemotherapy can be used in appendiceal cancer and some stomach cancers without any problem. The treatment plan differs from person to person as it is planned according to the patient.
What Does Hot Chemotherapy Gain to the Patient?
HIPEC, also known as intra-abdominal chemotherapy, offers great advantages to patients compared to standard chemotherapy applications. Normally, patients start treatment 1-2 weeks after their wounds heal and after surgery.
However, this method, which is frequently used as a cancer treatment recently, is completely different. Tumors up to 2 mm in size, invisible during the surgical procedure and not possible to be removed by surgery are treated during the surgical procedure. The aim is to dissolve and eliminate the tumors. Therefore, hot chemotherapy for colon cancer offers many benefits to the patient.
Before this application, the patient is first evaluated. Then it is checked how suitable the patient is for hot chemotherapy. If there is no problem, the appropriate dose and type of drug is determined according to the patient's tumor type. All tumors that spread into the abdomen are removed by surgery. Afterwards, the chemotherapy drug is poured into the abdomen using a special machine. The drug is circulated in the abdomen for approximately one hour. After the procedure is completed, the patient is admitted to an intensive follow-up and treatment program.
How Effective is Hot Chemotherapy in Cancer Types?
HIPEC treatment is used effectively for different types of cancer. When ovarian cancer is considered, there is a 5-year survival rate of up to 52 percent with appropriate removal surgery. In benign tumors that spread to fewer organs and are sensitive to chemotherapy, the 5-year survival rate rises to 80 percent. In peritoneal cancer, an appropriate and clean surgery with warm chemotherapy increases the 5-year survival rate up to 40 percent. If normal treatments are used, this is limited to 6 to 12 months. HIPEC therefore offers very high options. In the application of hot chemotherapy in appendix cancer, clean surgery and HIPEC for intra-abdominal spread increases the 5-year survival rate up to 80 to 90 percent. Even if the behavior is poor, a 5-year survival rate of around 50 percent is around 50 percent. However, even the life expectancy of 2 years is very low compared to normal treatment methods. When HIPEC treatment in colon cancer is examined, it is also noticed that it brings efficient results.
In colon-rectum cancers with intra-abdominal spread, the average life expectancy is around 6 to 12 months with a normal treatment. However, a correct HIPEC application increases the 5-year survival rate to around 40 percent. Likewise, it is a very successful application in stomach cancer. Although the studies are not completely clear, it is understood that a correct treatment shows efficient results. If you have cancer, regardless of its level, we professionally perform all procedures including intra-abdominal hot chemotherapy. Based on the medical history of all patients, HIPEC treatment is successfully applied with state-of-the-art medical devices.