Current status of surgical treatment of peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer

Cytoreductive surgery, often in combination with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), has been instrumental in improving the survival of patients with peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer. Recent studies have highlighted the benefits of complete cytoreduction, while the role of the HIPEC treatment remains unclear. An oxaliplatin-based HIPEC over 30 min could not achieve any clear benefits in studies on colorectal cancer, neither in the therapeutic nor in the prophylactic setting, but caused relevant side effects and increased the morbidity. The negative results of these studies with respect to oxaliplatin-based HIPEC require critical appraisal; however, they should by no means be regarded as a general setback for surgical treatment of peritoneal metastases and be misunderstood as a general failure of this treatment. While HIPEC after complete surgical cytoreduction of peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer requires further research, cytoreductive surgery should still be regarded as a highly effective treatment for suitable patients with limited abdominal tumor dissemination.