Safety and efficacy of pressurized intraperitoneal/intrathoracic aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC/PITAC) in patients with peritoneal and/or pleural carcinomatosis: A preliminary experience

Abstract

Background: Pressurized intracavitary aerosol chemotherapy is a newly developed therapeutic strategy to treat peritoneal and/or pleural carcinomatosis by directly applying antitumor agents into the peritoneal and/or in thoracic space (PIPAC = pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy, PITAC = pressurized intrathoracic aerosol chemotherapy). According to the current literature these approaches appear to be promising in terms of efficacy and safety as compared to the other standard chemotherapy strategies for advanced stage tumors.