Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy or HIPEC — a procedure that pumps heated chemo directly to the abdomen instead of the bloodstream — is now being used to treat some pediatric cancer patients at Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine.
Here are six things to know about the method, per Erika Newman, MD, associate chief clinical officer of health equity at Michigan Medicine and associate professor of pediatric surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School:
1. Since HIPEC is administered into the abdomen instead of the bloodstream, there are fewer side effects to the rest of the body.
2. Children with peritoneal cancers, or those that attach to the lining of the abdomen are the best candidates for the procedure. The procedure has been associated with better outcomes among pediatric patients with desmoplastic small round cell tumors, a rare but aggressive form of cancer.
"The patients with this condition that have the best chance at long-term survival and have the best outcomes are the ones in which we are able to remove all of the tumour from the abdomen, including where the tumor has been attached to the lining of the peritoneum, and then combine with HIPEC," Dr. Newman said.
3. HIPEC is "fairly new" and has been used for several years in adult patients at Michigan Medicine, according to Dr. Newman.
4. It may also be a treatment option for metastatic colon cancer in adults. Among children, it can be used for sarcomas that have spread to the abdomen, as well as ovarian germ cell tumors.
5. Risks associated with the procedure include renal failure, though certain medications and fluid orders are used to prevent this.
6. The team at Michigan Medicine recently performed the procedure in two pediatric patients who will be monitored for up to five years.
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