The Role of Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Using Paclitaxel in Platinum-Sensitive Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Patients with Microscopic Residual Disease after Cytoreduction

Background. We analyzed the role of hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) on the microscopic component of the disease in patients with a first recurrence of platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer after complete cytoreduction (CCR). Patients and Methods. We analyzed the data of 54 patients who were operated on between January 2001 and July 2012 with the diagnosis of platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer. In all patients, it was possible to achieve a CCR. Patients were divided into two groups: group I (cytoreduction alone) consisted of 22 surgical patients and group II (cytoreduction and HIPEC) consisted of 32 patients. Results. There were no significant differences in any of the preoperative variables studied. After a multivariate analysis of factors identified in the univariate analysis, only the presence of tumors with undifferentiated histology (hazard ratio 2.57; 95 % CI 1.21-5.46; p<0.05) was an independent factor associated with a reduced disease-free survival. The 1- and 3-year disease-free survival was 77 and 23 % in patients from group I and 77 and 45 % in patients from group II, respectively, with a tendency, but no significant differences (p = 0.078). There was no significant difference in postoperative morbidity between the two groups. Conclusions. The administration of HIPEC in patients in whom it is possible to achieve a CCR of the disease has not increased postoperative morbidity and mortality rates in our center. HIPEC with paclitaxel is effective in the treatment of microscopic disease in platinum-sensitive recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer patients with microscopic residual disease after cytoreduction, although with no statistically significant difference.