A study had just proven (again) that pumping chemotherapy drugs directly into the abdomen of patients with ovarian cancer, along with the usual intravenous method, could add 16 months or more to their lives. This is a treatment that the National Cancer Institute called for in 2006 after another major study showed its effectiveness. But abdominal treatment is still not being used often enough. Fewer than half of ovarian cancer patients in the United States are receiving the abdominal treatment.
The study looked at the use of the abdominal treatment, called intraperitoneal or IP, treatment at six cancer hospitals from 2003 to 2012, and at patient survival rates and found the increased survival rate.
Why is the treatment so underused? There may be several reasons. Abdominal delivery is harder to administer than intravenous therapy. Some doctors still doubt its benefits or believe it is too toxic. The treatment is also time-consuming and uses generic drugs on which oncologists make little money.
Often, new treatments are publicized by drug companies who train physicians on how to use them. Because this treatment does not involve new drugs or devices, no one is educating doctors about it.
Even at elite centers, IP treatment is not being used as often as health experts believe it should. From 2003 to 2006, which is when research began showing its benefits, the use of the treatment rose to 33% of patients. After a major, landmark study and the alert from the cancer institute, the use of IP rose to 50% of eligible patients, but it leveled off there.
This year, 21,290 new cases of ovarian cancer are expected in the United States, and 14,180 deaths. A patient's best option is to ask whether her doctor offers the treatment, and if the answer is no, to find a doctor who does.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
