Repeat cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for recurrent diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma

IntroductionCytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has shown to improve survival outcomes for patients with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM).Patients and methodsThis is a retrospective study of prospectively collected data of 44 consecutive patients with DMPM who underwent CRS and HIPEC by the same surgical team at St George Hospital in Sydney, Australia. A total of 58 operations were performed. Clinical data were divided according to the number of operation and HIPEC the patient had undergone (Group 1 = initial CRS and HIPEC; Group 2 = 2nd CRS and HIPEC; Group 3 included 3rd CRS and HIPEC; Group 4 = 4th CRS and HIPEC). A significant difference was defined as p < 0.05.ResultsThere were no significant differences in mortality and morbidity results among the four groups. The median survival for those who only had one operation was 22 months (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0-47.2), whereas the median survival for those who had a second operation was 62 months (95% CI = 22.9-101.1). However, such a difference did not translate into a statistical significance (p = 0.141).ConclusionWe report an encouraging median survival of 62 months in patients who had recurrence of disease and had repeat CRS and HIPEC with similar morbidity and mortality with the initial operation. Due to the learning curve of this technique, patients with recurrent mesothelioma should be referred to specialised tertiary care centres for evaluation. Selected patients may experience prolonged survival after repeat CRS and HIPEC.