Medical patients who have gynecologic cancer have brand-new optimism from a novel technology currently made available 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.

Implemented as soon as possible following surgical procedure, HIPEC makes available heated chemotherapy through a ‘hot bath’ into the abdominal cavity, where it can penetrate diseased tissue directly. Shortly after the doctor takes away as much visible cancer as viable, a heated, a sterilized chemotherapy solution is circulated across the midsection through a technologically sophisticated perfusion system to destroy the leftover 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, cancers that in general are usually not reactive to chemotherapy, however it’s now considered as a promising brand new remedy for gynecologic malignancy.