Moving Fast and Moving Slow

Excerpt

The Ninth International Symposium on Regional Therapies at Steamboat Springs, Colorado brought forth some of the finest research occurring in the management of advanced malignancies. We are pleased to present some of this work in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. Although it is difficult to do justice to the perseverance of the teams, the investigation of the scientists, and the sacrifices of our patients in a few pages, we hope to provide you with a snapshot of a rapidly changing field. Delivering cytotoxic therapy in a proinflammatory healing state after an operation requires the development of a precise framework—the hallmark of regional therapies. Advancement of care has required rapid intuitive thinking and development of surgical concepts that have allowed us to apply selective regional therapies to patients more widely than ever before. It is estimated that more than 1,300 cytoreductive procedures and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) procedures were performed in the United States in 2012, and the numbers are increasing. The rapid pace of these advances has brought with it careful investigation of the aspects of care, focusing on oncological outcomes, safety, and patient-centered metrics. These developments have been associated with the growth of new centers both locally and internationally, thereby improving access to care. …