A lot of doctors get fired up over ovarian cancer treatment, but the oncologists at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore are taking it to a whole new level. According to a recent news article from 8-News Now in Las Vegas, these doctors are using a new and aggressive treatment called HIPEC, an abbreviation for hyperthermic interperitoneal chemotherapy, in which doctors first remove all traces of the tumor along with several other organs, if necessary. Then a catheter is inserted which delivers heated chemotherapy. The function of the heat is two-fold: it kills cancer cells but also enhances the effects of chemotherapy. The chemo temperature of the chemo reaches about 109 degrees Fahrenheit and circulates in the patient for 90 minutes. HIPEC is being studied as a first-line therapy for ovarian cancer patients in a phase-two trial. Of the new treatment, Dr. Teresa Diaz-Montes, Gynecologic Oncologist at Mercy Medical Center, said, “We are trying to see if we can be more proactive in preventing more women from recurring.”
The article also explains how HIPEC is different from other forms of ovarian cancer treatment: “Systemic chemotherapy delivery circulates throughout the body. The HIPEC treatment is different because it delivers to cancer cells in the abdomen. This allows for higher doses of chemotherapy. The heat can also improve how the tumors absorb the drugs. It can destroy microscopic cancer cells that remain in the abdomen after surgery.”
Chief of Surgical Oncology Dr. Armando Sardi recently used this new approach on Helen Szablya, who was diagnosed with cancer five years ago. Her tumor was so big that doctors couldn’t even see her ovaries. Her particular type of cancer (primary peritoneal carcinoma, which is very similar to epithelial ovarian cancer) was so serious that Szablya and her husband, Charles Dann, weren’t sure they’d make it to their 20th wedding anniversary.
Szablya received HIPEC from Dr. Sardi and has been cancer-free for five years. “It saves your life!” she said of the treatment. Her husband added, “It’s really quite amazing to understand what Helen has gone through and what amazing odds she’s overcome.”
Read the full story from 8-News Now KLAS-TV Las Vegas.
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