Local injection of M-CH combined with i.p. hyperthermic hypo-osmolar infusion is an effective therapy in advanced gastric cancer

Treatment failure of surgically treated gastric cancer is attributed to the spread of gastric cancer cells Into the abdominal cavity and lymphatic or hematogenic canals. In the present study, local injection of mitomycin C bound to activated carbon (M-CH) combined with i.p. hyperthermic hypo-osmolar infusion (IPHHOI) was intraoperatively administered to prevent lymph node recurrence and peritoneal recurrence of gastric cancer. Between April 1998 and August 1999, 79 patients with advanced gastric cancer were allocated randomly to two groups. Forty patients underwent M-CH plus IPHHOI combined with surgery (M-CH+IPHHOI group) and the remaining 39 underwent surgery alone (control group). Lymph node and peritoneal recurrence were significantly decreased in the M-CH+IPHHOI group compared to that in the control group (p<0.05). The 1- and 2-year survival rates for the M-CH+IPHHOI group were 91.2 and 72.1%, and those for the control group were 78.9 and 45.5%. The M-CH+IPHHOI group reaped a significant survival benefit (p=0.0352) compared to the control group. Although this study was conducted randomly for a small number of patients and shorttime, compared with the control group, the M-CH+IPHHOI group had a beneficial effect in preventing lymph node recurrence and peritoneal recurrence after curative gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer. [(C) 2002 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.].