Peritonectomy for Mesothelioma

What Is a Peritonectomy?

A peritonectomy is a procedure used to remove cancerous tumors from the lining of the abdominal cavity.

During a peritonectomy, an involved procedure called cytoreductive surgery is performed, which aims to remove as much cancerous growth as possible from multiple sites in the abdomen. When the mesothelioma involves many areas of the abdominal cavity, the cytoreductive surgery may involve removing portions of various organs, including the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas, and spleen, among others.

When performed as stand-alone procedures, peritonectomy and cytoreductive surgery can give patients relief from abdominal pain and loss of appetite. However, doctors often perform cytoreductive surgery in combination with other treatments. When used with chemotherapy, the surgery has the ability to kill cancer and extend life span. This combination has helped some patients to live seven years or longer after diagnosis.

In a 2021 study involving 40 mesothelioma patients who underwent peritonectomy, 38 had a complete macroscopic tumor removal. Two patients had residual tumor nodules less than 2.5mm in size.

Surgical Consultation for Peritonectomy

An essential first step toward a peritonectomy is a consultation with the surgeon and the surgical team. Surgical consultations allow patients to sit down with the surgical team in person or virtually to learn about the details of the procedure and ask important questions.

The surgical team will review all your medical records, imaging scans and biopsy results to confirm you are eligible for a peritonectomy. They’ll also explain everything you need to know about preparing for surgery and recovery.

Cytoreductive Surgery Procedure

Cytoreduction is a complex procedure that generally lasts 10 to 12 hours. Because this mesothelioma surgery is so lengthy, patients are sometimes admitted to the hospital a day before the surgery. Doctors use the extra day for preoperative testing (X-rays, blood tests and other preparatory measures).

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Hospital Stay

After surgery, patients can expect an extensive recovery period in the hospital and at home. Many patients have a post-op hospital stay of more than a week. While there, they can have chemotherapy as potentially curative care.

Heated Chemotherapy

A heated chemotherapy regimen – administered into the abdominal cavity for direct contact with cancer cells – is most commonly delivered after the tumor cytoreduction is complete. This generally lasts 90 minutes, while the patient is still under general anesthesia.

Home Recovery

Once discharged from the hospital, patients should expect another two or three weeks of recovery at home. A large part of this recuperation depends on the recovery of the digestive system, which can experience significant complications after cytoreduction.

Completeness of Tumor Removal Impacts Prognosis

Mesothelioma experts consider peritonectomy and cytoreductive surgery critical to successfully treating peritoneal mesothelioma with a curative intent. Reducing the amount of visible cancer through surgery allows chemotherapy to better penetrate the cancerous cells that are invisible to the naked eye.

The more cancer a surgeon can remove the better chemotherapy will work for a patient, and this is why electrosurgery is used by surgeons instead of traditional scissor and knife tools. The margins around the removed tumor often contain microscopic cancerous cells. Surgical margins are assessed after surgery according to the Completeness of Cytoreduction Score, which evaluates the amount of potentially remaining cancerous tissue. Based on a scale of zero to four, lower scores indicate further removal of cancer in the margins.

Effect on Life Span

A combination of cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy can help some patients become long-term survivors. In general, when peritoneal mesothelioma patients follow this treatment regimen, doctors report a median survival of approximately three years. One study of 49 patients achieved a median survival of 92 months (about 7.5 years). This is a drastic difference from the typical mesothelioma prognosis of one year or less.

Another study, published in Anticancer Research in 2019, reported a 50 percent five-year survival rate among peritoneal mesothelioma patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery and heated chemotherapy. However, the same study also reported a 75 percent five-year survival rate among patients who underwent radiacal surgery similar to cytoreductive surgery along with traditional systemic chemotherapy that wasn’t heated.

If you have peritoneal mesothelioma, proper treatment can help you become a survivor. Treatments such as cytoreduction may add years to your lifespan. Discuss your situation with a mesothelioma specialist and create a personalized treatment plan.