Background: The quest to cure or to contain the disease in cancer patients leads to new strategies and techniques being added to the armamentarium of oncologists. Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) is a recently described surgical technique which is being evaluated at many centers for the management of peritoneal metastasis (PM). The present study is a systematic review to evaluate the current role of PIPAC in the management of gastric cancer associated PM. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in Pubmed and EMBASE database using relevant keywords and confirming to the PRISMA guidelines to identify the articles describing the role of PIPAC in gastric cancer associated PM. All the studies which were published prior to July 1, 2018 in English literature and reported the role of PIPAC in gastric cancer associated PM were included in the systematic review. Results: The search yielded 79 articles; there were ten published studies which have reported the use of PIPAC in gastric cancer associated PM. A total of 129 patients with gastric cancer associated PM were treated in the studies. Only two studies had an exclusive cohort of gastric cancer patients while eight other studies had a heterogeneous population with a small proportion of gastric cancer patients. There was only one study highlighting the role of PIPAC in neoadjuvant setting to downgrade the peritoneal carcinomatosis index. All the studies revealed that PIPAC is feasible and has minimal perioperative morbidity, even after repeated applications. Conclusion: There is a scarcity of English literature related to the role of PIPAC in gastric cancer associated PM. PIPAC is a safe and well-tolerated procedure which has the potential to contain spreading PM. Further studies are warranted to better define the role of PIPAC in gastric cancer associated PM.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is associated with a poor prognosis mostly due to peritoneal metastasis, which will develop in time during the patient’s disease history. To prevent and treat peritoneal metastasis, different kinds of treatment regimens have been described. Summary: In this review, we addressed two main topics – prophylaxis and treatment of peritoneal metastasis in GC. Prevention should be directed towards diminishing cancer cell spillage and reducing adherence of cancer cells to the abdominal cavity. Postoperative washing of the abdomen with or without chemotherapy and additional heat are herein discussed. Key Messages: Treatment of existing peritoneal metastasis is effective in patients with limited disease and tumour spread. Cytoreductive surgery including resection of peritoneal metastasis followed directly with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy can increase overall survival and progression-free survival in selected patients. Drugs, duration and time schedules of intraperitoneal chemotherapy are reviewed and presented. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy seems to improve the prognosis of patients with GC and peritoneal metastasis after complete resection of both primary and metastatic tumours.

Introduction: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) coupled with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a potentially curative approach to peritoneal disease (PD) and corresponds to the needs of patients with dire survival rates. However, the oncological community remains cautious toward this procedure because of its significant morbidity and mortality rates. This evolving evidence around CRS and HIPEC and its impact suggests a need for more standardized procedures in existing centers. Because of its complexity and potential for high morbidity and mortality, critical observation of our center’s complication rates using complication management documentation tools were crucial to further develop our standard operating procedures (SOP) and maximize patient safety. Methods: Our prospectively maintained institutional database was queried to identify all patients who underwent CRS and HIPEC and had a filled-out quality management (QM) and complication management documentation tool at discharge at the surgical department of the Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow Klinikum, Berlin, Germany, between January 2018 and December 2023. Results: A total of 155 patients had a surgical and/or medical complication recorded. In total, 305 surgeries were surveyed. Some patients had more than one postoperative complication; hence, 344 events in 50 categories were recorded, of which 267 were graded 3a or higher in 92 patients. The most common medical complications were of pulmonary and renal origin. On the surgical side, surgical site infections (SSI) were most common. The incidence of anastomotic leakage (AL) was 5% (n = 8), with no events between 2021 and the present. Patients with longer surgery duration times were at higher risk for developing postoperative complications. Conclusions: Major abdominal surgeries like CRS and HIPEC are associated with significant patient morbidity despite achieving optimal oncological outcomes. Postoperative complications are managed through strict surveillance and transparency, particularly in our large reference centers, to minimize patient risk. Quality management programs in our department have successfully maintained high standards of care without compromising patient safety.