Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) play an important role in the treatment of various peritoneal surface malignancies, but its efficacy in peritoneal sarcomatosis (PS) remains unknown. Hence, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate outcomes of CRS-HIPEC in PS, in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. 16 studies with a total of 320 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled mean length of hospital stay after CRS-HIPEC was 16.0 days (95% CI: 12.2-19.8) and rate of serious complications was 17.4% (95% CI: 9.8-26.3). The median DFS was 12.0 months (95% CI: 8.0-16.0) and the 5-year DFS was 21.8% (95% CI: 13.2-31.7). Overall pooled median OS was 29.3 months (95% CI: 23.8-34.8), with a 5-year OS of 35.3% (95% CI: 26.3-44.8). Subgroup analysis showed that patients with CC-0 cytoreduction had a higher median OS of 34.6 months (95% CI: 23.2-45.9). Median OS for patients with a primary tumour histology of leiomyosarcoma and liposarcoma was 33.5 months (95% CI: 15.9-51.1) and 39.1 months (95% CI: 20.8-57.5) respectively. The site of recurrence was locoregional in 57.3% (95% CI: 38.9-74.8), distant in 17.3% (95% CI: 3.9-35.6), and both in 17.4% (95% CI: 5.8-32.2). In conclusion, our results suggest that CRS-HIPEC may improve outcomes in a select group of PS patients.

Background: The performance of MRI versus CT in the detection and evaluation of peritoneal surface malignancies (PSM) remains unclear in the current literature. Our study is the first prospective study in an Asian center comparing the two imaging modalities, validated against intra-operative findings. Methods: A total of 36 patients with PSM eligible for CRS-HIPEC underwent both MRI and CT scans up to 6 weeks before the operation. The scans were assessed for the presence and distribution of PSM and scored using the peritoneal cancer index (PCI), which were compared against PCI determined at surgery. Results: Both MRI and CT were 100% sensitive and specific in detecting the overall presence of PSM. Across all peritoneal regions, the sensitivity and specificity for PSM detection was 49.1% and 93.0% for MRI, compared to 47.8% and 95.1% for CT (p = 0.76). MRI was more sensitive than CT for small bowel disease, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Comparing PCI on imaging with intra-operative PCI, the mean difference was found to be −3.4 ± 5.4 (p < 0.01) for MRI, and −3.9 ± 4.1 (p < 0.01) for CT. The correlation between imaging and intra-operative PCI was poor, with a concordance coefficient of 0.76 and 0.79 for MRI and CT, respectively. Within individual peritoneal regions, there was also poor agreement between imaging and intra-operative PCI for both modalities, other than in regions 1 and 3. Conclusion: MRI and CT are comparable in the detection and evaluation of PSM. While sensitive in the overall detection of PSM, they are likely to underestimate the true disease burden.

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) represent a mainstay of treatment for peritoneal malignancies. There is evidence that HIPEC using high intra-abdomi...