Espirito Santo Saude SGPS : New Oncologic Treatment for Peritoneal Disease at Hospital da Luz Arrábida

New Oncologic Treatment for Peritoneal Disease at Hospital da Luz Arrábida

Hospital da Luz Arrábida offers, since the current month, a new technique for the treatment of peritoneal oncologic disease: hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC).

HIPEC allows the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis - a disease that 'may have its origin in a peritoneum tumor or, more frequently, be a consequence of tumor metastasization in any organ, mostly colon, stomach, ovaries and appendix - as explained by Francisco Senra, surgeon responsible for the development of this new technique at Hospital da Luz Arrábida.

Traditionally, peritoneal carcinomatosis is treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy. HIPEC consists in the application of chemotherapy, during surgery, directly over the peritoneum, associated with high temperature.

HIPEC is already considered the ideal treatment in peritoneal carcinomatosis of colon and appendix tumors, and mesotheliomas. 'In selected cases, it has been possible not only to expand the time of life, with quality, but also to achieve cure (that is to say, long survival with no evidence of disease)', highlights Francisco Senra.