Men and women with gynecologic cancer have new expectation from a original technology currently offered at the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. A team of cancer specialists, led by Robert DeBernardo, MD, is among the first in the nation to launch a dedicated program using Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) to treat ovarian, endometrial and select other cancers.
Implemented immediately following surgical procedure, HIPEC brings heated chemotherapy through a ‘hot bath’ into the abdominal cavity, where it can penetrate diseased tissue directly. After the surgeon takes out all of the visible cancer as attainable, a heated, a sterilized chemotherapy solution is distributed around the abdomen by using a technically advanced perfusion procedure to ruin the residual cancer cells.
“This is a new and potentially revolutionary way of treating women with gynecologic cancers, which tend to be quite responsive to chemotherapy,” says Dr. DeBernardo, gynecologic oncologist at UH Case Medical Center and Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “Our preliminary data and experience has been overwhelmingly positive and the therapy has been well-tolerated and effective. HIPEC promises to extend lives in a meaningful way.”
HIPEC has been used for years for public health care in patients with colon, pseudomyxomas, malignant mesothelioma and appendiceal cancer, types of cancer of which typically aren’t receptive to chemotherapy, however it’s currently perceived as a promising new therapy for gynecologic malignancy.