"Refining selection criteria for cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC in patients with peritoneal metastases of colorectal origin"

Keywords: colorectal cancer, surgery, metastases, patient selection

This dissertation focuses on identifying the right selection criteria for the intensive surgical treatment of patients with peritoneal metastases of colorectal cancer. The natural progression of this disease is characterised by a very low survival rate of only a few months. The HIPEC procedure, during which the entire visible tumour is removed and the abdominal cavity is rinsed with heated chemotherapy, can significantly improve the survival rate of this patient population.

The research carried out as part of this dissertation identified several factors that are important for determining whether these patients will benefit from this type of treatment. These factors include whether the patient smokes, the location of the tumour, the condition of the patient, the presence of complications, the type of tumour and whether the patient received chemotherapy before the HIPEC operation. Several of these factors were used to develop a model to predict survival rates following treatment.