Affected individuals who have gynecologic cancer have great new optimism with a original technology currently introduced at the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. A team of cancer specialists, led by Robert DeBernardo, MD, is among the first in the nation to launch a dedicated program using Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) to treat ovarian, endometrial and select other cancers.

Carried out asap following surgical procedure, HIPEC provides heated chemotherapy through a ‘hot bath’ into the abdominal cavity, where it can penetrate diseased tissue directly. Soon after the physician takes away as much visible cancer as practical, a heated, a sterilized chemotherapy solution is distributed within the abdomen by using a technically sophisticated perfusion process to eliminate the remaining cancer cells.

“This is a new and potentially revolutionary way of treating women with gynecologic cancers, which tend to be quite responsive to chemotherapy,” says Dr. DeBernardo, gynecologic oncologist at UH Case Medical Center and Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “Our preliminary data and experience has been overwhelmingly positive and the therapy has been well-tolerated and effective. HIPEC promises to extend lives in a meaningful way.”

HIPEC has been used for years for public health care in patients with colon, pseudomyxomas, malignant mesothelioma and appendiceal cancer, varieties of cancer that generally speaking ordinarily are not reactive to chemotherapy, but it is currently looked at as a promising fresh remedy for gynecologic malignancy.