EFFICACY OF CISPLATIN-BASED INTRAPERITONEAL CHEMOTHERAPY AS TREATMENT OF MALIGNANT PERITONEAL MESOTHELIOMA

In an effort to examine the potential clinical utility of intraperitoneal (i.p.) therapy in the management of patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, 19 individuals with this disease were treated with a cisplatin-based i.p. treatment regimen. All but 1 patient also received i.p. mitomycin. The treatment was generally well tolerated, although a maximum of only four or five courses of cisplatin (100 mg/m2 every 28 days) and mitomycin (5-10 mg/treatment given 7 days after each i.p. cisplatin administration) could be administered, the treatment principally being stopped because of disease progression or catheter failure. Of 15 patients with malignant ascites, 7 (47%) experienced control of fluid reaccumulation ranging from 2 months to 73+ months (median 8 months). While the median survival for the 19 patients was only 9 months, 4 (21%) patients survived for more than 3 years from the initiation of therapy, and 2 patients are currently alive and clinically disease-free more than 5 years from the start of the i.p. treatment program. We conclude that a subset of patients with peritoneal mesothelioma, principally those with small-volume residual disease following surgical tumor debulking, can benefit from a cisplatin-based i.p. treatment strategy with control of ascites and prolonged disease-free survival.