B ultrasound-guided hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy for the treatment of malignant ascites

To minimize invasive surgery, we employed B ultrasound to guide the placement of the catheters used in continuous circulatory hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy (CHIPC) in malignant ascites treatment. Thirty-two patients with malignant ascites were treated with CHIPC guided by B-mode ultrasound. Ascites were originally from ovarian cancer (11 cases), gastric cancer (10 cases), colorectal cancer (9 cases) and pancreatic cancer (2 cases). The CHIPC was carried out at 43 degrees C for 90 min with 0.9% saline solution as a carrier containing cisplatin and doxorubicin or mitomycin-C as therapeutic reagents depending on the type of the primary tumor. The therapeutic efficacy, postoperative complications and survival period of these patients were assessed with follow-up examinations. Among all participates to be assessed with ascites, 26 and 4 patients showed complete remission (CR) and partial remission (PR) respectively, with an objective remission rate (ORR) of 93.75%. The KPS scores were elevated by 23.1 +/- 9.0 after 3 sessions of ultrasound guided CHIPC and the quality of life (QOF) of patients was significantly improved (p < 0.01). The median survival time was 9 months and 18 patients survived between 3 and 30 months after CHIPC treatment. Additionally, patients with different types of cancers significantly differed in the survival time (p < 0.01). A novel approach of using B ultrasound guided CHIPC for the treatment of malignant ascites demonstrated satisfactory outcomes. The approach shows benefit in minimizing invasive surgery, improving the patient QOF and prolonging survival time.