Patients ranging in age from 5 to 43 years were included in the study, but those receiving HIPEC ranged from 5 to 25 years old. Results indicated that younger patients had better outcomes from HIPEC than patients older than 18 years. Disease-free survival was also better for those who received HIPEC in addition to debulking surgery. At one year, disease-free survival was 14 percent for those who only received debulking surgery as compared to 53 percent who received HIPEC.
"We really are encouraged that this is going to help many children with abdominal tumors," said Hayes-Jordan. "We're sharing this technology with other centers so that they will also be able to help these children. In the years to follow, we hope to try different chemotherapies with the procedure to better the outcomes and decrease any toxicities."
DRSCT is a rare and aggressive soft tissue sarcoma that primarily presents as multiple tumors in the abdominal and pelvic area. The disease most often occurs in young Caucasian males, with less than 200 cases being reported worldwide since 1989. The overall survival rate for DSRCT is approximately 30 to 55 percent, which in part is due to the disease being resistant to chemotherapy and radiation often. Hayes-Jordan also attributes the poor outcomes to the tumor cells left behind after debulking surgery that spread in the abdomen and to other organs.
"Four years ago we had little hope to give to families facing this disease we know very little about," said Peter Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics and senior author on the study. "Using a multi-modality treatment that includes heated chemotherapy, we can see some of our patients experience milestones such as another birthday, a graduation or even parenthood that they may not have had otherwise."
Hayes-Jordan hopes that the data published from the study will encourage more centers to begin performing HIPEC on pediatric patients with abdominal tumors. She also plans to extend the study to include cancers that metastasize to the abdominal area.
Andrea Hayes-Jordan, M.D., discusses new surgery for children with abdominal tumors,
(Photo Credit: M. D. Anderson)
Andrea Hayes-Jordan, M.D., is an assistant professor at the MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital.
(Photo Credit: MD Anderson)