ASO Author Reflections: Quality-of-Life Trajectories After Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

Excerpt

Traditionally, surgical intervention outcomes have focused on survival. The quality of life (QoL) for survivors or impairment of QoL for those who died has seldom been reported. These issues are particularly important where major surgery is required and functional impairment is common, such as treatment of peritoneal malignancy or other major cancer surgery.1 Peritoneal malignancy has had and continues to have a poor prognosis, with most treatments being palliative. During the past few decades, cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) have been increasingly used selectively with curative intent.2 Postoperative complications and hospital length of stay after CRS and HIPEC are high and, consequently, physical and mental QoL outcomes are undoubtedly impaired.3 A clear QoL trajectory after CRS and HIPEC and the relationship of QoL to important metrics such as the Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI) and completeness of cytoreduction (CC) scores have not been published. …