Understanding the Benefits of "HIPEC"
- Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy — also known as “HIPEC” — is a method of treatment that involves directly administering heated chemotherapy drugs into a woman’s abdomen directly following ovarian cancer surgery
- The treatment has been shown to extend progression-free survival, but it is difficult to administer and requires a specialized team of doctors
- HIPEC may not necessarily be the best treatment for every woman with ovarian cancer
According to Dr. Antonio Santillan-Gomez, a gynecologic oncologist at Texas Oncology in San Antonio, the relatively new treatment technique is promising, but isn’t necessarily the right option for every woman with ovarian cancer.
Read More One of the reasons for this is that the treatment can cause more severe side effects than traditional, IV chemo. Additionally, the treatment is really technical and complicated to administer, making it necessary for a hospital to have the right team of specialized doctors available.
“There are some centers that are working to add this tool in their treatment of ovarian cancer,” says Dr. Santillan-Gomez, explaining that in the United States, there aren’t all too many ovarian cancer doctors that typically use this treatment method. This may change, however, as the improved survival benefit leads more doctors to adopt the treatment.
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