Hyperthermic Intrathoracic Chemotherapy (HITHOC) for Pleural Malignancies—Experience from Indian Centers

Hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC) has been used in addition to radical surgery for primary and secondary pleural malignancies to improve local control, prolong survival, and improve the quality of life. This study was performed to study the indications, methodology, perioperative outcomes, and survival in patients undergoing HITHOC at Indian centers. A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected demographic and clinical data, perioperative and survival data of patients undergoing surgery with or without HITHOC was performed. From January 2011 to May 2018, seven patients underwent pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) or extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) with HITHOC and four had P/D or EPP alone at three Indian centers. P/D was performed in two and EPP in nine patients. The primary tumor was pleural mesothelioma in eight, metastases from thymoma in one, germ cell tumor in one, and solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura in one. HITHOC was performed using cisplatin. Grade 3–4 complications were seen in one patient in the HITHOC group and none in the non-HITHOC group, and one patient in the non-HITHOC group died of complications. At a median follow-up of 9 months, five patients of the HITHOC group were alive, four without recurrence, and one with recurrence. One patient in the non-HITHOC group was alive and disease-free at 24 months, and two died of progression at 18 and 36 months. HITHOC can be performed without increasing the morbidity of P/D or EPP. Most of these patients require multimodality treatment and are best managed by multidisciplinary teams.