The surgery department at Gainesville, Fla.-based UF Health has successfully performed its first cytoreductive surgery and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy to treat abdominal cancer.
The procedure, known as CRS/HIPEC, involves the surgical removal of tumors, followed by chemotherapy administered directly to the abdominal cavity to clear out remaining cancer cells, the academic health system said Jan. 10. The chemotherapy solution is heated, which makes the tumors more permeable and responsive to treatment. The health system said the patient has recovered well.
"Excited to offer CRS/HIPEC for our patients with peritoneal surface malignancies," Ibrahim Nassour, MD, a surgical oncologist at UF Health who helped lead the procedure, tweeted. "This was a team effort including many surgical services, [operating room] staff, pharmacist, perfusionist, residents, students, oncologist, radiologist, pathologist, nurses, administrators and many others."
The procedure was first introduced in the 1980s to treat low-grade appendiceal cancer and has recently gained traction as an abdominal cancer treatment, Mazin Al-kasspooles, MD, a surgical oncologist at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Westwood, wrote in a blog post.