Purpose: Treatment of rectal cancer has markedly improved since the introduction of neoadjuvant strategies and better surgical techniques. However, treatment remains troublesome for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) or with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). Patients presenting with LARC may now benefit from the integration of intra-operative radiotherapy (IORT) into multimodality treatment. Selected patients with PC now undergo cytoreductive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) resulting in improved survival. Some patients present with locally advanced disease and synchronous peritoneal carcinomatosis and fulfill the eligibility criteria for both HIPEC and IORT, raising the question whether the combined application of both modalities within one operative procedure is feasible.
Case series: This report includes five consecutive cases of rectal cancer patients presenting with LARC and synchronous PC who were treated with a multimodality treatment including IORT and HIPEC after cytoreductive surgery. Postoperative complications and survival are described.
Results: The combination of cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC and IORT appeared to be feasible and well tolerated. The observed complications did not differ from the morbidity associated with extensive pelvic surgery without HIPEC or IORT. No inhospital mortality occurred. One patient died after 11 months of recurrent disease. All other patients are currently alive with one patient already surviving 38 months.
Conclusion: The current case series shows that a multimodality treatment containing IORT and HIPEC is feasible and safe with promising survival rates. This strategy may, therefore, be considered in selected rectal cancer patients presenting with both LARC and synchronous PC.