[Adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer at risk of carcinomatosis: preliminary experience of a single centre].

The treatment of patients at high risk of developing colorectal peritoneal carcinomatosis is still debated since the absence of peritoneal disease synchronous with the primitive cancer makes the application of aggressive treatments less obvious. In this subset of patients hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), after the resection of the primitive cancer, may improve long-term survival. Over the period from December 2003 to June 2008 142 patients affected by different kinds of cancers underwent HIPEC in the surgical division of Bentivoglio Hospital, A.U.S.L. Bologna. In 13 patients HIPEC was combined only with the resection of the primitive cancer and no major cytoreductive surgery was performed. Nine of these 13 patients were affected by colorectal cancer and at high risk of developing carcinomatosis. The average surgical time was 420 min (range: 300-510). No intraoperative complications occurred, but 3 cases of postoperative morbidity were reported; only 1 of these was a major complication At an average follow-up of 22 months 1 patient with a liver metastasis died of complications unrelated to progression of the disease, 1 patient had a lymph node relapse and is currently on systemic chemotherapy, while the remaining 7 patients are alive and free from peritoneal disease.