Gastric cancer treated with pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy: revising an option for peritoneal carcinomatosis

Aim: Gastric cancer is the cancer with the highest rate of peritoneal metastization and this type of spread is associated with a higher death rate compared to distant organ metastasis. The systemic chemotherapy has a minimal effect in peritoneal metastasis so new types of treatment have emerged. The authors revised the main studies done in pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) and presented the main conclusions. Methods: A PubMed search was conducted focusing on PIPAC in gastric cancer. The MeSH database was searched with the terms: “Gastric cancer [MeSH] and intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy”. Results: Seven studies were analyzed. All the studies performed the technique with aerosol of doxorubicin and cisplatin. All cases were well tolerated, with minor adverse effects. Patients presented resolution of their abdominal symptoms and regression of macroscopic carcinomatosis. Cytoreductive surgery or hypertermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy could be performed in some patients with good response to PIPAC. The peritonitis caused by the chemotherapy was well tolerated. Conclusion: PIPAC can induce remission in end-stage and resistant disease with acceptable side effects, good safety levels for patients and health professionals, and quality of life improvement.