Surgical management and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for locally advanced colorectal cancer

Locally advanced colorectal cancers (CRC) pose several management challenges, including local recurrence and the development of peritoneal metastases (PM). These recurrences are associated with a poor prognosis and onerous complications. In selected patients with PM, cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) have shown to confer survival benefit. However, its effectiveness depends on the disease extent and this combined treatment is associated with significant morbidity. Additionally, early detection of PM is difficult even with state-of-the-art imaging techniques. Due to the high-risk of developing PM, locally advanced CRC are currently being investigated in several trials, including adjuvant HIPEC in an attempt to reduce the risk of PM. This review article sets out to examine the current data available on this topic, in an attempt to determine the suitability and effectiveness of HIPEC in the management of locally advanced CRC.