By: OSF HealthCare/ Newsroom
Key Takeaways:
- Cytoreductive surgery, HIPEC is now available at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center
- Beneficial treatment for many intraperitoneal (abdominal cavity) area cancers
- Dr. Tamara Floyd has performed one procedure already, with one scheduled soon
- Plan is to perform 3-4 procedures per month
Certain later stage cancer patients now have another option to receive lifesaving treatment at OSF HealthCare.
The Peoria, Illinois-based hospital system has brought surgical oncologist Tamara Floyd, MD, to the care team at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Dr. Floyd performs cytoreductive and HIPEC (hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy) surgeries in Peoria, while also seeing patients in Bloomington and Galesburg.
HIPEC procedures are mostly for patients who have tumors or cancer spread in the abdominal cavity.
Cancerous tumors are removed through cytoreductive surgery where the surgeon initially attempts to remove as much of the cancer as possible. Surgery is then followed by HIPEC, which is when a heated chemotherapy – at just over 106 degrees Fahrenheit – is administered into the abdomen. The heated chemo is then circulated around the area inside the abdomen to treat any remaining microscopic tumor cells.
HIPEC can be beneficial for several types of cancer patients. The one it benefits the most is LAMN, or low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm. HIPEC is considered a standard of care for patients who have seen their cancer spread into the space in the abdomen that contains the abdominal organs.
These can be appendix, colorectal, and now more data indicates stomach cancer patients may benefit from HIPEC, Dr. Floyd says.
“Additionally with more data, pancreatic cancer is being looked at as well. Even patients with breast cancer. Another cancer that benefits from HIPEC is peritoneal mesothelioma.”
HIPEC can be a viable treatment option at any stage, Dr. Floyd says. But as some people are diagnosed with later stage disease, it can feel like no options are possible. HIPEC changes that.
“It’s beneficial to have the option of doing HIPEC, or cytoreductive surgeries, for patients who have peritoneal spread of disease, which for most cancers means it is a stage 4 disease,” Dr. Floyd says. “In a lot of instances, if you’re talking about stage 4 disease, there aren’t a lot of other options.”
While HIPEC is a viable option for low-grade cancers, it’s also a helpful option for later stage, more aggressive cancers. Patients with signet ring or goblet cell features, which are more aggressive subtypes, can also be treated with HIPEC.
“Signet ring is one of the subtypes of appendiceal, colon or rectal that can be treated. There are even some subtypes of gastric or stomach cancer that are considered a signet ring or have signet ring features,” Dr. Floyd says. “Cytoreductive and HIPEC can be considered for those patients.”
Throughout a cancer journey, combining traditional chemotherapy that is administered through IV with HIPEC provides a “synergistic effect” Dr. Floyd says. HIPEC allows the chemotherapy to be administered directly to the cancer cells and kill them that way.
Dr. Floyd has done one HIPEC at OSF Saint Francis so far and has another planned soon. It’s anticipated that within the next year, Dr. Floyd and her team will start to do three to four HIPEC surgeries a month as OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute continues to grow as a destination center.
Patient recovery times can be one to two weeks in the hospital after HIPEC surgery, which is why having this option for Central Illinois patients is so important. It allows the patient and their families to stay close to home, instead of having to travel hours away. Dr. Floyd says the longer travel times can turn patients and their families away from pursuing care.
Heated chemotherapy can also be used in thoracic cavities. This would then be called HITEC or HITOC, Heated IntraThoracic Chemotherapy. This is for patients who have disease spreading in the pulmonary area.
Types of cancers that can be treated by HIPEC:
– LAMN (Low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm)
– Appendiceal
– Colon
– Rectal
– Gastric
– Stomach
– Pancreatic
– Breast
– Mesothelioma
– Ovarian
For more information on cancer treatment options at OSF, visit the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute website.
Video Interview Clips
- View Dr. Tamara Floyd – Cytoreductive, HIPEC surgery for signet ringDr. Tamara Floyd – Cytoreductive, HIPEC surgery for signet ring
- View Dr. Tamara Floyd – HIPEC and later stage cancersDr. Tamara Floyd – HIPEC and later stage cancers
- View Dr. Tamara Floyd – Which cancer patients can benefit from HIPECDr. Tamara Floyd – Which cancer patients can benefit from HIPEC
