The Clinical Desire for Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy in South Korea: An Electronic Survey-based Study

Abstract

Background/Aim: To evaluate the clinical desire for pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) in South Korea. Patients and Methods: We performed an online survey on surgical oncologists between November and December 2019 using a questionnaire consisting of 20 questions. Results: A total of 164 respondents answered the questionnaire. Among those specialized in ovarian cancer, pseudomyxoma peritonei, and malignant mesothelioma 41.7-50% preferred PIPAC for the curative treatment of primary diseases, whereas 32.7-33.3% majoring in colorectal and hepatobiliary cancers chose it for the palliative treatment of recurrent diseases. Furthermore, 66.7-95.2% considered PIPAC appropriate for the cancers they specialized in, and 76-78.7% expected a treatment response of more than 50% and considered grade 1 or 2 complications acceptable. Most respondents answered the reasonable costs to purchase and implement PIPAC once at between 1,000,000-5,000,000 South Korean Won (KRW). Conclusion: Most Korean surgical oncologists expected relatively high tumor response rates with minor toxicities through the repeated implementation of PIPAC.