Antonios-Apostolos Tentes

Peritoneal malignancy is a disease that is most commonly known as disseminated abdominal carcinomatosis or peritoneal carcinomatosis. It is usually the result of an ovarian tumor or a colorectal carcinoma or a gastric cancer or an appendiceal carcinoma or a pancreatic carcinoma. Less frequently peritoneal carcinomatosis is the result of a tumor of the internal female genitalia other than the ovarian, or of a liver or biliary carcinoma or from the peritoneum. Peritoneal sarcomatosis originates from sarcomas. In the majority of cases patients with peritoneal malignancy may undergo radical treatment.

Surgical resection is the most powerful tool for the treatment of the diseases that present with peritoneal malignancy. These diseases are ovarian cancer, colorectal or gastric cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis, pseudomyxoma peritonei, peritoneal mesothelioma, and others either at initial diagnosis or at recurrence.

All these clinical entities except ovarian cancer were considered unresectable 30 years ago, and the patients received only systemic chemotherapy for palliation. Currently, 1/3 of these patients may undergo potentially curative treatment.

The treatment strategy includes tumor resection in combination with intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) which is possible using a specially designed device. The purpose of this treatment is the eradication of the microscopic residual tumor that is not visible by the human eye.

This complete treatment is possible only in authorized medical centers by experts.