Postoperative oxaliplatin-based hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy: an effective and safe palliative treatment option for colorectal cancer with peritoneal metastasis

Oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neurotoxicity in colorectal cancer patients: mechanisms, pharmacokinetics and strategies

Oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy is a standard treatment approach for colorectal cancer (CRC). However, oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (OIPN) is a severe dose-limiting clinical problem that might lead to treatment interruption. This neuropathy may be reversible after treatment discontinuation. Its complicated mechanisms are related to DNA damage, dysfunction of voltage-gated ion channels, neuroinflammation, transporters, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction, etc. Several strategies have been proposed to diminish OIPN without compromising the efficacy of adjuvant therapy, namely, combination with chemoprotectants (such as glutathione, Ca/Mg, ibudilast, duloxetine, etc.), chronomodulated infusion, dose reduction, reintroduction of oxaliplatin and topical administration [hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC), pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC), and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)]. This article provides recent updates related to the potential mechanisms, therapeutic strategies in treatment of OIPN, and pharmacokinetics of several methods of oxaliplatin administration in clinical trials.

Intraperitoneal administration of thermosensitive hydrogel Co-loaded with norcantharidin nanoparticles and oxaliplatin inhibits malignant ascites of hepatocellular carcinoma

Malignant ascites is a common complication of some advanced cancers. Although intraperitoneal (IP) administration of chemotherapy drugs is routinely used to treat cancerous ascites, conventional drugs have poor retention and therefore need to be administered frequently to maintain a sustained anti-tumor effect. In this study, a thermosensitive hydrogel composite loaded with norethindrone nanoparticles (NPs) and oxaliplatin (N/O/Hydrogel) was developed to inhibit ascites of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through IP injection. N/O/Hydrogel induced apoptosis in the H22 cells in vitro, and significantly inhibited ascites formation, tumor cell proliferation and micro-angiogenesis in a mouse model of advanced HCC with ascites, and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice. Histological examination of the major organs indicated that the hydrogel system is safe. Taken together, the N/O/Hydrogel system is a promising platform for in-situ chemotherapy of malignant ascites.

The role of chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced appendiceal cancers: summary of the literature and future directions

Appendiceal cancer is rare and encompasses a diverse group of tumours ranging from low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasms to high-grade adenocarcinomas. Appendiceal cancers often spread to the peritoneal cavity causing extensive mucinous dissemination and peritoneal metastases. Prognosis varies with histological subtype. Cytoreductive surgery and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy is well-established as the most effective treatment achieving long-term survival in some patients. Chemotherapy regimens used to treat appendiceal cancer are extrapolated from the colorectal cancer setting, but disease biology differs and outcomes are inferior. The role of chemotherapy in the treatment of appendiceal cancer remains poorly defined. There is an urgent need to develop novel tailored treatment strategies in the perioperative and unresectable setting. This review aims to evaluate the literature for patients who received intraperitoneal and systemic chemotherapy for appendiceal cancers.

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.