Pseudomyxoma peritonei medical therapy
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
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Overview
Treatment for PMP is variable, both due to its rarity and to its frequently slow-growing nature. Treatment ranges from watchful waiting to debulking and cytoreductive surgery.[1]
Medical Therapy
Chemotherapy is infused directly into the abdominal cavity to kill remaining cancerous cells. The drugs may be manually applied to the cavity for an hour or two as the last step in the surgery, or ports are installed to allow circulation and/or drainage of the chemicals for one to five days after surgery. Cancer cells reproduce quickly on scar tissue, and there is lots of scar tissue after surgery. Even with aggressive, heated chemotherapy treatment PMP recurrence is common and further surgeries are frequently needed. Patients often require frequent CT scans for a period of time to spot any tumor regrowth.
Oral and intravenous chemotherapy has become more commonly used during the past five years. In cases in patients have experienced stability in tumor growth through treatment with various systemic chemotherapies.
Additionally recent (2003) publications linking the MUC2 enzyme overexpression to Pseudomyxoma cell reproduction has launched research efforts into additional drug treatments.