Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) with mitomycin C has been applied following cytoreductive surgery for various peritoneal surface malignancies. Spratt et al. first performed HIPEC in a patient with pseudomyxoma peritonei [15]. A significant survival benefit has been shown for HIPEC when compared to systemic chemotherapy alone [16, 17]. The complete cytoreductive surgery is the most important prognostic factor. Incomplete cytoreduction results in limited survival [18, 19].
The drugs used in the HIPEC procedure have a limited depth of penetration. For this reason, HIPEC is applied in patients whose macroscopic tumor burden was eliminated or minimal residual tumor remained following radical cytoreductive surgery [20]. Therefore, tumor cells can be implanted into an intraperitoneal fat pad to simulate cytoreductive surgery as described by Veenhuizen et al.[21]. Using this technique, the spread of tumor implants is limited. This simulates an abdomen that has undergone cytoreductive surgery and has a reduced tumor burden. In our study, we provided widespread implantation of tumor cells by injecting tumor cells into the intraperitoneal cavity. Diffuse peritoneal implants formed in all subjects within 7–10 days. In many studies, and tumors are produced by intraperitoneal injection [22, 23].The widespread creation of peritoneal implants made it easier for us to determine the macroscopic PCI score. Apart from this, we think that this approach enables us to better detect the differences in efficacies of different drugs administered to the groups. In some studies, the tumor formation rate after intraperitoneal tumor transplantation was reported as 80% [24, 25], while tumor formation rate of 100% was reported in a study where tumor cells were implanted in an intraperitoneal fat pad [21].In our study, tumor formation was observed at a rate of 100% after intraperitoneal inoculation.
We have seen that with the IPIP system we developed, HIPEC can be performed effectively in the athymic mouse PK model. There was no loss of subjects during and after perfusion. Animals were observed for 5 days after administration of intraperitoneal chemotherapy. No serious complications were observed. Mild side effects (anorexia and lethargy) were observed in four animals in the group given only hyperthermic chemotherapy. All these side effects disappeared within two days. Late-term effects, morbidities, and effects of sacrification on the 5th day could not be fully evaluated. Basically, HIPEC is a proven procedure with cytoreductive surgery. However, in our study, only HIPEC was applied since it was not appropriate to perform cytoreductive surgery on the model. In this case, the administered chemotherapeutic drugs demonstrated limited effectiveness.
It is difficult to achieve homogeneous distribution of temperature, and cytotoxic drugs, but it is crucial for ensuring the tumoricidal efficacy of this procedure. For this reason, an open abdomen approach can be chosen to ensure homogeneous temperature and drug distribution [11]. The biggest disadvantage of this method is exposure to cytotoxic drugs. In our study, after perfusion catheters were placed, the abdominal wall was closed and then peritoneal infusion was started. Optimal intraperitoneal circulation was ensured by continuous temperature control and adjustment of the infusion rate in the fluid outflow and inflow catheters, and the desired temperature and homogeneous drug distribution were maintained.The closed abdomen facilitated the control and maintenance of the same drug temperature. After the treatment period was completed, the cannulas were withdrawn and the procedure was terminated.
In the study of Liesenfeld et al.[26] on dose-related side effects and mortality in the mouse model, the doses of mitomycin and oxaliplatin with the lowest loss of subjects were determined. In our study, we applied the same doses in this study Liesenfeld et al.[26] by calculating MMC as 20mg/m² and OXA as 100mg/m². In the postoperative follow-up, mild side effects (anorexia and lethargy) were observed in five mice in the group that hyperthermic chemotherapy was given, which disappeared within two days. Mortality was not observed in the early period.
Oxaliplatin and Mitomycin C are the most commonly used chemotherapeutics as intraperitoneal agents in HIPEC[27, 28]. The reason why oxaliplatin and MMC are suitable for intraperitoneal use is that due to the large molecular weight of the chemotherapeutics, they may undergo limited systemic absorption and reach high intraperitoneal concentrations. In this case, it increases their intraperitoneal activity[29]. In recent years, the use of oxaliplatin as a HIPEC regimen in patients with colorectal PM has become increasingly popular[30]. Studies have been conducted comparing MMC, which is commonly used in PM patients with colorectal cancer, and oxaliplatin [31–34]. In the study by Zhang X.[31] et al., no significant difference was found in terms of survival between patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic oxaliplatin and those who underwent MMC in colorectal PM patients. However, the rate of major complications (bleeding, renal toxicity, hepatic toxicity, neurotoxicity) was higher in the group receiving Oxaliplatin. In our study, no significant difference was found in terms of complications in the two groups until the sacrification process, which is the 5th day. In general, the perfusion time is about 30 minutes for oxaliplatin, which is significantly shorter than that of MMC (60–90 minutes) [32]. This is one of the reasons why it has been preferred in recent years. In our study, however, we applied HIPEC for equal duration (45 minutes) to both groups in order to avoid inconsistency in the results, since their efficacy may vary depending on the duration. Leung V.[33], et al. reported that oxaliplatin provides a better overall survival advantage than MMC in colorectal PM patients. In the study by Eden W. J. V.[34] et al., it was determined that the survival times were significantly longer in the patient group given oxaliplatin compared to the patient group given MMC. When the two groups were compared in terms of postoperative complications, no significant difference was found. When these studies are examined, it is seen that oxaliplatin given for a shorter time comes to the fore. However, the cytoreductive surgery technique applied to the patients, the different drug doses and durations applied in the HIPEC procedure may affect these results. In the study of Delhorme J P[35] et al., it was determined that disease-free survival in patients with colorectal peritoneal metastasis was significantly higher in the group that underwent MMC. In the study of Villaverde A P[36] et al., it was shown that the median overall survival was significantly longer in the MMC group. In the study of Woeste M R. [37] et al. it is reported that hyperthermic intraperitoneal administration of MMC or Oxaliplatin together with an effective cytoreductive surgery is a safe and effective treatment in colorectal PM patients. They argued that both perfusion treatments should be considered in all patients receiving modern induction chemotherapy. In the PM animal model study conducted by Raue W.[38] and his colleagues, MMC was applied hypertemic intraperitoneally and it was shown to have high tumoricidal activity.
In our study, when we evaluate all the findings, macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical and immunohistochemical examination results jointly have shown that the strongest tumoricidal activity was achieved in the hyperthermic MMC group. However, no significant difference was found between the early complication rates. Long-term survival could not be evaluated because it was an experimental study on an animal model.
Limitations of this study can be stated as small number of mice included in the nude mouse peritoneal carcinomatosis model, and very dificult application of chemotherapy procedure. The mice were followed up and sacrificed until the 5th postoperative day. Therefore, the long-term efficacy of the drugs and the late-term postoperative complications could not be evaluated. Due to the limited number of studies in this area, it was not possible to foresee the difficulties that may be encountered. Before this experiment, preliminary experimental studies were carried out in order to establish peritoneal carcinomatosis and to gain experience in IPIP procedure.