Pittsburgh Physicians give Hope to Peritoneal Mesothelioma patients by HIPEC

At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), 8 billion dollars of global health company, Western Pennsylvania's largest employers, with 50,000 employees in Pittsburgh alone.  It has also carried out more intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemoperfusion (HIPEC) procedures than anywhere else in the world.  HIPEC is a new, innovative technology to treat advanced chemotherapy in patients with abdominal cavity cancer, including peritoneal Mesothelioma, which has advanced beyond surgical cure.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which is almost always caused by exposure and affects the lining of the abdomen, While it is close to 3 000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year, is less than 10% of the peritoneal. 

Oncologists who treat patients with HIPEC at UPMC found that 6 weeks after treatment to their patients had a better quality of life than before treatment; HIPEC process for the treatment of peritoneal Mesothelioma and other GI-cancer patient's abdomen means bathing water with heated high dose chemotherapy drugs to reach the multiple tumours within the abdominal cavity.  This form of chemotherapy will limit exposure to the rest of the body and is very effective in killing cancer cells. 

David Bartlett, MD, Chief, Division of surgical oncology at UPMC, said "we see people who live 3-4 years longer than we would expect but this reading."  He also said that patients receiving treatments are very heroic and are willing to go through a lot in order to combat the disease.After treatment, cancer and symptom does not reappear in several years, in which case the HIPEC can be offered again.

The procedure is complex and at UPMC a team of surgeons work together to treat each patient.Niraj on Gusani, CEO, Surgical Oncologist, one of the surgeons, sa HIPEC treatment should be seriously considered for stomach cancer. "HIPEC can give you more meaningful time to spend with your loved ones and your family, "said Gusani. Bartlett added that UPMC 's" the goal of the HIPEC is to improve the quality of life and prolongs survival. "

There is no cure for mesothelioma, but with new treatments, such as the HIPEC, patients will find they can return to live their lives as in the past. Gusani finds his work very worthwhile and said that some patients who have lost hope "come to us, and we are often able to give them hope."

HIPEC offers Hope