Health

New Cancer Debate: Are ‘Shake & Bake’ Chemotherapy Baths Effective?

Hot Chemotherapy Bath Cancer Treatment Open for DebateA controversial, aggressive and rarely-performed cancer treatment, commonly called hot chemotherapy, was recently up for debate at the 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

Hot chemotherapy (or hot chemo baths) is a procedure that involves cutting open the abdominal cavity and surgically removing all visible cancers from organs (cytoreductive surgery). The incision is then stitched back up and 3 liters saline and chemotherapeutic liquid is pumped into the abdomen at 42 degrees Celsius (about 108 degrees Fahrenheit). Some doctors are reported as saying the heat makes the chemotherapy more effective.

For 90 minutes to two hours, nurses jiggle the abdomen gently to ensure it reaches all abdominal crevices. The liquid is then pumped out. This “chemo bath” part of the procedure is called hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (Hipec).

As the New York Times reports, this therapy was initially reserved for rare forms of appendix cancers, but is now also being offered for some ovarian and colorectal cancers. However, it is only offered at a few hospitals in North America.

This video explains it all:

This video has the real-life procedure but with graphic images (WARNING):

Though very little data exists on the effectiveness of Hipec, some say it helps increase the lives of those with certain types of abdominal cancers while others say traditional intravenous chemotherapy would be just as effective and less invasive.

The New York Times has more on the debate:

[David P. Ryan, clinical director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center] debated the procedure publicly at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. While some patients did seem to live much longer than expected, he said that they had been carefully selected and might have fared well even without the therapy.

Proponents say that if cancer has spread into the abdominal cavity but not elsewhere, then lives can be prolonged by removing all the visible tumor and killing what’s missed with Hipec.

By contrast, said Paul Sugarbaker, a surgeon at Washington Hospital Center and the leading proponent of Hipec, “there are no long-term survivors with systemic chemotherapy — zero.”

Here’s more detail on how the procedure went in one San Fransico resident who let the New York Times reporter sit in on his procedure on the condition they not use his full name:

Mr. S. had abdominal pain eventually diagnosed as appendicitis. But the appendix was found to be cancerous. Such cancers typically spew mucus containing tumor cells into the abdominal cavity. So he signed up for surgery and Hipec with [surgeon Andrew Lowy from the University of California, San Diego].

“I’ve had to say my goodbyes to everybody,” Mr. S. said the day before the operation. “I had to talk to my priest. I had to do all these things I never thought I’d have to do at 41. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but I have to go through with it.”

Dr. Lowy explored the entire cavity from the diaphragm to the pelvis. He found mucus in several spots that he sopped up with a cloth and also tiny tumors the size of a pencil eraser that had implanted in several spots. He snipped those out and sewed up the wounds. He removed the right side of the man’s colon and the omentum, a fatty structure.

Then two Y-shaped tubes hooked to the Hipec machine were inserted into the abdominal cavity, one to deliver the chemotherapy and the other to bring the drug back to the machine to be reheated. The incision was sewn up around the tubes so the chemotherapy would not leak.

The man’s belly was filled with three liters of saline fluid and the chemotherapy, a generic drug called mitomycin C, heated to 42 degrees Celsius, or nearly 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Any hotter could have caused injuries. Bloated with liquid, the man’s torso resembled a water bed.

After 90 minutes, the fluid was drained and the incision reopened for a final check before the patient was stitched up. The procedure took six hours.

This Canadian News Station reported in late July that a recent University of Calgary study using this procedure resulted in a 30 percent increase of survival for patients with colon cancer and 50 percent increase in patients with appendix cancer.

The New York Times also includes that a trial on this procedure in the United States was suspended due to lack of patient volunteers.

Comments (23)

  • counts01
    Posted on August 23, 2011 at 6:36pm

    My sister in law had this procedure done. It saved her life. She has a type of appendiceal cancer and, as Dr Sugarbaker stated in the article, NO SYSTEMIC CHEMO IS EFFECTIVE AGAINST THIS CANCER – NONE. With my sister in law, Hipec is the only treatment that worked thus far – and she was not a “carefully select patient” by any stretch of the imagination; she is well advanced in her cancer, but because of this treatment, she was given life.

    Report Post » counts01  
  • Marrabella
    Posted on August 17, 2011 at 4:16pm

    This is why I HATE the idea of Obama Care…… If I pay through the nose for healthcare under the US Government….. and I get a serious disease…. I would NOT choose radiation or chemotherapy (the majority of US doctors would not either – they know its not really effective) – I would choose Hoxey Clinic or another alternative method (which has much better survival rates). I’m outta luck. Not only can I NOT choose – I’d have to double pay.
    Medicine is so politicised in this country ….. where is our freedom? How dare self-interested monopolies tell us how to cure our bodies?

    Report Post »  
  • adblake
    Posted on August 17, 2011 at 3:27pm

    Why not use every available option? It should be the up to the individual whether or not they choose to utilize this treatment. If this doesn’t kill you it should be allowed and every available treatment option should be considered.

    Also to say that Pharma isn‘t interested in cures only long term treatment isn’t quite accurate. Do you think that if a cure for cancer was produced then suddenly there would be no new cases of cancer? Why would they want someone to die 5 years after treatment? I would rather have a 41 year old patient live another 40 years and buy a multitude of drugs from our company than have them spend 5 years on chemo.

    Your comment makes no sense from a business standpoint, also what about vaccines? If the Pharma companies were only interested in treating illness why would they spend billions in researching vaccines and new treatments for existing illnesses. It is Im tired of the class warfare us against them mentality where big business is always looked down upon. Without pharma many of us would be dead today you would do well to remember that.

    Report Post »  
  • ObserverOnTheHill
    Posted on August 17, 2011 at 6:45am

    American medicine is owned by big pharma and they are not interested in any cures, only long term treatments. Did you know you are “cured” if you are alive after 5 years of starting treatment ? Drop dead on day 1 after 5 years and you still stay in the cure column. The major reason the statistics look better is because they can diagnose earlier, people are not living longer just being diagnosed sooner.

    Report Post »  
  • MrObvious
    Posted on August 16, 2011 at 10:48pm

    Seems like a common sense technique to me.
    Snip what you can, use limited chem to get the rest.
    After all why attack the whole body when you know it’s limited to a specific area?
    It’s kind of like the difference between blitzkrieg and a smart bomb.
    Germany never defeated GB; despite all the bombs they dropped.
    The US quickly kicked Iraq out of Kuwait, by targeting the infection with smart bombs.

    Report Post »  
  • rabornmd
    Posted on August 16, 2011 at 7:31am

    Check Out “Uarethecure” First human trial using donated granulocytes to kill solid tumors. Trevor Raborn recruiting young people 18-35 yo to donate white cells. http://www.uarethecure.org http://www.bmscti.org

    Report Post » rabornmd  
  • dukestreet
    Posted on August 16, 2011 at 1:54am

    Adding to the comment I made above:Doctors said his situation was hopeless. How many times have we heard that one?

    In an HSI Forum thread titled “Graviola progress report,” an HSI member named Bob tells how he took charge of the cancer treatment for his father-in-law after the doctors threw in the towel. Bob writes: “Month’s ago my Father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. It was too late for chemo or radiation. 86 years old, the Doctors basically said ‘go home and die.’ Everyone (except me) accepted the inevitable. I purchased Graviola powder from Equadorian products (intotherainforest.com) put the powder into the smallest capsules, and explained to him that if this works, his wife and none of his kids will ever have to go through what he’s going through.

    “I prescribed 1 in the morning and 1 at night for the first week, then have the nurse check the blood pressure (Graviola’s side effect). If no change then go to 2 in the morning and 2 at night for a week and have the nurse check blood pressure, continue the pattern of increase until he reaches 6 in the morning and 6 at night (The highest level recommended by my studies). First he began to hold down food. Eventually he started sleeping less.”

    And now? This man who was sent home to die “is keeping busy in the garden.”

    In the e-Alert “Giving and Taking Care” (Thursday, 9/16/04 – see below), I told you about an HSI member named Mary who also had very positive results using graviola to ca

    Report Post »  
  • dukestreet
    Posted on August 16, 2011 at 1:52am

    Usual cancer treatments have a dismal success rate of 3%. I know as I am in the process of researching options for a friend. Anything that provides a 30%increase in survival rates even if for a longer more productive period of time is a huge improvement. I readily believe that Allopathic medicine is not interested in a true cure because it is driven by the drug companies. IT is interesting that a drug company worked on a cancer cure for 7 years. The botanical plant worked but the company was unable to create a chemical equivalent that worked. The company shelved the cure because they couldn’t patent it. It was a chemist that worked on the original project and felt guilty about the fact that the cure was not released, that let the cat out of the bag. A naturalpathic company now produces the product called “Graviola ” from Equadorian products (intotherainforest.com See below:

    Report Post »  
  • fastfacts
    Posted on August 16, 2011 at 1:26am

    MAYBE THIS WILL SAVE SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BE HURT BY OBAMACARE…

    Studies have already said that there will be a mass exodus of doctors, 74%, is ObamaCare goes into action: http://url2it.com/gpja

    Report Post »  
  • Cold War Vet
    Posted on August 16, 2011 at 12:29am

    The increased heat (a mimic of the fever caused your immune system) and the more direct placement of the chemotherapy chemicals directly onto the cancer cells is a promising direction.

    It’s easy to knock something different as an outsider. When you have a direct connection to cancer, and are familiar with conventional treatments, it’s a little different story. Hopefully this will become more widespread in the near future.

    Report Post » Cold War Vet  
  • endgamer
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 11:46pm

    They do not want to cure anything.. The term today is manage disease. Curing the disease cuts off cash flow. Managing disease is continuous cash flow for the rest of the patients life. Shareholders love it!
    We’re bankrupt because of it. http://youtu.be/vLEQ3p1t-d4

    Report Post » endgamer  
  • briblueeyes
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 11:26pm

    That is incredible. Advances in medical technology are so encouraging. Great information!

    Report Post »  
  • Ron_WA
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 10:19pm

    I pray this works for as many as possible. Never give up hope.

    Report Post » Ron_WA  
  • Dabldo
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 10:17pm

    Sounds better‘n alot of things i’ve heard. Some chance is better’n wishin and hopin. And what does your body do when your sick? Raise the temperature with a fever…..’Nuf said.

    Report Post »  
  • adiabat
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 10:04pm

    There is a Cleveland Clinic, a University Hospital and a Case Western University (all in Cleveland, OH).
    There is no Cleveland University. Trust me, if he had a cure for any kind of cancer that exisited, there would be money. They do face transplants for god sakes! A lot more people have cance than need those!

    Report Post »  
  • Sharkei
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 9:53pm

    A Cleveland University chemist has found the cure for several cancers, but he cannot get funding for his research. I have heard this on a local talk radio several times and find it very sad that cures are not worth funding but treatments are.

    Report Post »  
    • Sharkei
      Posted on August 16, 2011 at 11:43am

      The chemist name is Michael Kalafatis he works at Cleveland State University where he is a professor in chemistry and biology. He named the compound he discovered Cancer X. It has killed severeal cancers in the petri dish and in lab mice.The Canton Reopository (our local newspaper) wrote an article about him in 2010. He is still trying to get funds for his research today. Yes Cleveland is an amazing place for medical breakthroughs and I know this could be another feather in our cap.

      Report Post »  
  • OlefromMN
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 9:48pm

    I had a very dear friend that was part of this initial study. I can say it did give him more time on this earth. He unfortunately had a very agressive form of cancer. The procedure (I was under the impression that the table was in motion) is something I can see helping the Chemo reach areas that may not be hit by traditional methods.

    When you’re on the bed, you want all options looked at.

    Report Post » OlefromMN  
  • Sharkei
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 9:48pm

    There is a chemist at a Cleveland University who has found the cure for several cancers, but he cannot get any funding for his research. A local talk radio host has brought this up several times but he is still not getting anyone to fund him. I think he applied for Federal grants but to no avail.

    Report Post »  
  • islandlady
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 9:42pm

    I’d work on destroying the virus and its envelope if it has one, without destroying the cells. Or working on an increasing the strength of the cell, or an antiviral medication. Cut and burn may be effective, but
    brutal.

    Report Post » islandlady  
  • sWampy
    Posted on August 15, 2011 at 9:35pm

    Sounds about like using leaches to drain blood to me.

    Report Post »  

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