Cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy: Technical considerations and the learning curve

Effect of glucose-insulin-potassium on lactate levels at the end of surgery in patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Cytoreductive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) has been established as an effective treatment for peritoneal cancer (PC). However, this kind of combination therapy is associated with a high lactate level. Moreover, studies have suggested that the rate of complications early after surgery directly increased with elevated lactate levels. Glucose-insulin-potassium (GIP), a potent cardioprotective intervention, has been demonstrated to adjust blood glucose (BG) levels and reduce lactate levels. However, the insulin-glucose ratio should be adjusted according to the surgery performed. Here, we aimed to evaluate the advantages of using modified GIP during CRS/HIPEC to reduce the lactate level at the end of surgery and further reduce the incidence of early postoperative complications.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The modified GIP versus conventional management during surgery study is a single-center, randomized, single-blinded outcome assessment clinical trial of 80 patients with PC who are between 18 and 64 years old and undergoing CRS/HIPEC. Participants will be randomly allocated to receive modified GIP or conventional treatment (1:1). The primary outcome will be the plasma lactate level at the end of surgery. The secondary outcomes will include the highest levels and fluctuation ranges of lactate and BG during surgery, extubation time, APACHE-II score 24 h after surgery, postoperative defecation and exhaust time, postoperative lactate clearance time, postoperative liver and kidney function, incidence of complications within 7 days after surgery, length of intensive care unit stay (LIS), length of hospital stay (LHS), and total cost of hospitalization.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The trial protocol was approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee of Beijing Shijitan Hospital Affiliated with Capital Medical University, approval number sjtky11-1x-2022(118). The results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR2200057258. Registered on March 5, 2022.

Prolonged hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy duration with 90 minutes cisplatin might increase overall survival in gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastases

BACKGROUND

Advanced gastric cancer with synchronous peritoneal metastases (GC-PM) is associated with a poor prognosis. Although cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) is a promising approach, only a limited number of Western studies exist.

AIM

To investigate the clinicopathological outcomes of patients who underwent CRS-HIPEC for GC-PM.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of patients with GC-PM was conducted. All patients were seen at the Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Hospital Barmherzige Brüder, Regensburg, Germany between January 2011 and July 2021 and underwent CRS-HIPEC. Preoperative laboratory results, the use of neoadjuvant trastuzumab, and the details of CRS-HIPEC, including peritoneal carcinomatosis index, completeness of cytoreduction, and surgical procedures were recorded. Disease-specific (DSS), and overall survival (OS) of patients were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 73 patients were included in the study. Patients treated with neoadjuvant trastuzumab (n = 5) showed longer DSS (P = 0.0482). Higher white blood cell counts (DSS: P = 0.0433) and carcinoembryonic antigen levels (OS and DSS: P < 0.01), and lower hemoglobin (OS and DSS: P < 0.05) and serum total protein (OS: P = 0.0368) levels were associated with shorter survival. Longer HIPEC duration was associated with more advantageous median survival times [60-min (n = 59): 12.86 mo; 90-min (n = 14): 27.30 mo], but without statistical difference. To obtain additional data from this observation, further separation of the study population was performed. First, propensity score-matched patient pairs (n = 14 in each group) were created. Statistically different DSS was found between patient pairs (hazard ratio = 0.2843; 95% confidence interval: 0.1119-0.7222; P = 0.0082). Second, those patients who were treated with trastuzumab and/or had human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positivity (median survival: 12.68 mo vs 24.02 mo), or had to undergo the procedure before 2016 (median survival: 12.68 mo vs 27.30 mo; P = 0.0493) were removed from the original study population.

CONCLUSION

Based on our experience, CRS-HIPEC is a safe and secure method to improve the survival of advanced GC-PM patients. Prolonged HIPEC duration may serve as a good therapy for these patients.

Learning curve for minimal invasive cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) procedures

PURPOSE

The benefits of the minimally invasive approach for performing cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (L-CRS + HIPEC) have been described previously, associating an early recovery with similar oncologic outcomes in patients with limited peritoneal carcinomatosis. Currently, no studies are focusing on the learning curve for this emerging procedure. This study aimed to evaluate the L-CRS + HIPEC learning curve and its knock-on effect on the perioperative outcomes.

METHODS

We identified all consecutive unselected patients who underwent L-CRS + HIPEC by a single surgeon between April 2016 and January 2022 (n = 51). Patients who underwent risk-reducing CRS + HIPEC (PCI = 0) or initial conversion due to an intraoperative PCI > 10 were excluded from the final analysis. To evaluate the learning curve, perioperative data were analysed using the cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis.

RESULTS

Twenty-six patients were included in the final analysis. Major morbidity occurred in one patient (3.8%). The difficulty of the L-CRS + HIPEC procedures was categorised as low in 23.1% (n = 6), intermediate in 19.2% (n = 5), and advanced in 57.7% (n = 15). The mean length of hospital stay was 5.4 ± 1.5 days. No patient had a conversion to open surgery. The learning curve was divided into two distinct phases: the learning phase (1-14) and the consolidation phase (15-26). A significant decrease in the operative time (375 ± 103.1 vs 239.2 ± 63.6 min) was observed with no differences in complexity, the number of peritonectomy procedures, or morbidity.

CONCLUSION

L-CRS + HIPEC is a complex procedure that must be performed in a high-volume and experienced oncologic unit, requiring a learning curve to achieve the consolidation condition, which could be established after 14 procedures.

Safe performance of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with HIV infection

Background

Patients with HIV (PHIV) are living longer with the adoption of anti‐retroviral therapy. As such, more patients are presenting with advanced cancer diagnoses, including peritoneal surface malignancies. The objective of this study was to assess the safety of CRS/HIPEC in this cohort of patients.

Case

Five PHIV were identified, four of whom underwent CRS/HIPEC. Primary sites of disease were low‐grade appendiceal mucinous tumors in three patients and peritoneal mesothelioma in the other. Operative time ranged from 7 to 14 h. One patient developed a Clavien grade II complication postoperatively. There was no instance of neutropenia identified. One patient died of disease 19 months after surgery; the remaining three patients are alive 11, 21, and 33 months postoperatively.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that CRS/HIPEC can be performed in PHIV without prohibitive complications and operative recovery approximates that of non‐HIV patients. Though more study is needed, HIV should not preclude a patient from being offered CRS/HIPEC.

The Road to Technical Proficiency in Cytoreductive Surgery for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis: Risk-Adjusted Cumulative Summation Analysis

Background

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) is a technically demanding procedure, and there is considerable debate about its safe application. This study investigated the learning curve for CRS and the clinical outcomes of consecutive patients treated by a single surgeon at a single institution.

Methods

We collected 251 consecutive patients who underwent CRS for peritoneal metastases by a single surgeon at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, between January 2016 and December 2020. The learning curve was estimated using the cumulative summation analysis (CUSUM) for operative time (OT). Risk-adjusted CUSUM (RA-CUSUM) charts were developed using a composite variable (surgical failure), defined as the occurrence of at least one of the following events: major postoperative complications (Clavien–Dindo grade ≥3), blood loss ≥500 mL, incomplete cytoreduction. Three learning phases were thus derived from the RA-CUSUM analysis, and were compared in terms of perioperative outcomes.

Results

CUSUM-OT showed that the operation time improved significantly after the 161^th case. RA-CUSUM analysis allowed to break the CRS learning curve into three different phases: phase 1, “the learning phase” (cases 1–99), phase 2 “the experienced phase” (cases 100–188), and phase 3, “the mastership phase” (cases 189–251). The rate of major postoperative complications decreased significantly over the three phases (p = 0.019). Operative time decreased significantly as well (p = 0.031) and was significantly shorter in phase 3 with respect to the other two phases (phase 3 vs phase 2: 420 min vs 500 min, p = 0.017; phase 3 vs phase 1: 420 min vs 503 min, p = 0.021). Blood loss consistently decreased throughout the three phases (p = 0.001). The rate of incomplete cytoreduction was significantly lower in phase 3 than in phase 2 (4.8% vs 14.6%, p = 0.043).

Conclusion

The CRS failure rate stabilized after the first 99 cases, and the complete surgical proficiency was achieved after 189 cases. A standardised and mentored learning model is a safer strategy to shorten the learning process, to reduce morbidity and mortality, to improve oncologic outcomes.

Treatment of advanced pseudomyxoma peritonei using cytoreductive surgery including total gastrectomy and perioperative chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

Pseudomyxoma peritonei is a disease caused by the widespread distribution of mucinous tumor into the peritoneal space from a perforated appendiceal neoplasm.

METHODS

All patients in this study had cytoreductive surgery with total gastrectomy plus perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy. A high diverting jejunostomy was used on all patients. Patient characteristics, adverse events, and survival were accumulated prospectively.

RESULTS

Fifty-eight patients were available for long-term follow-up. In the univariate analysis, features associated with a less favorable outcome included female gender (p = 0.0127), intestinal obstruction before treatment (p = 0.00791), and prior surgical score (PSS) (p = 0.0054). In the multivariate analysis, the two significant variables were grade (p = 0.0458) and PSS (p = 0.0041). Median survival was 12 years with a 5-, 10-, and 20-year survival of 76%, 58%, and 37%, respectively. There were two postoperative deaths (3.4%) and Grades 3 and 4 adverse events in 20 (34.5%) patients.

CONCLUSIONS

A 10-year survival after cytoreductive surgery, total gastrectomy with temporary high diverting jejunostomy, and perioperative chemotherapy occurred in 58% of these patients with advanced pseudomyxoma peritonei. High-grade disease and extensive prior surgery with a high PSS were associated with reduced benefit.

Optimal oncologic and perioperative outcomes of cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy are attainable at a community center

BACKGROUND

CRS with HIPEC is a complex operation that has shown survival benefit in patients with a variety of primary and metastatic peritoneal surface malignancies. While optimal oncologic and perioperative outcomes have been defined by expert consensus and demonstrated at university-affiliated, academic centers, similar results have never been presented from a non-university-affiliated, community center in the literature to date.

METHODS

All cases of CRS with HIPEC performed at a non-university-affiliated, community center were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Oncologic and perioperative outcomes were compared Chicago Working Group benchmarks and with results from university-affiliated, academic centers recently published in high-impact-factor, peer-reviewed journals.

RESULTS

All 112 cases completed over 5 years were reviewed. 3 were excluded from analysis since they were palliative HIPEC procedures for distressing ascites-related symptoms only without CRS. A wide variety of tumors were treated. Average PCI was 18±9.1. Median PCI was 14. CC 0-1 was achieved in 89% of patients. Average length of stay was 11.6±9.3 days. Serious perioperative morbidity, defined as a Clavien-Dindo Grade III or IV complication, was observed in 22% of patients. The frequency of major complications decreased after the first year. There were no perioperative deaths.

CONCLUSIONS

Optimal oncologic and perioperative outcomes of CRS and HIPEC are attainable at a non universityaffiliated, community center. A multidisciplinary team and high clinical volume are necessary to obtain these results.