A New, Minimally Invasive Way to Deliver Chemotherapy for Cancer That Has Spread Within the Abdomen

Abdominal Cancers Alliance
Jan 2
2 min read

Safety and Efficacy of Cisplatin and Doxorubicin Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosolized Chemotherapy (PIPAC) in Patients with Ovarian Cancer with Peritoneal Metastases: A Multicenter US Phase I Trial. Authors: Nakamura, B., Senguttuvan, R., Ruel, N.H. et al. Ann Surg Oncol 33, 415–425 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-025-18432-0

A New Way to Treat Cancer Spread in the Abdomen

This study looked at a treatment called Pressurized Intra-Peritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) for people whose cancer had spread to the peritoneal surface (the lining inside the abdomen). The research was a Phase I clinical trial conducted at multiple centers in the United States.

What Is PIPAC and Why Is It Being Studied?

PIPAC is a minimally invasive way to deliver chemotherapy directly inside the abdomen during a small surgical procedure (laparoscopy). Chemotherapy drugs are aerosolized (turned into a fine mist) and sprayed into the abdominal cavity under pressure. This approach may help the chemotherapy reach cancer cells more effectively throughout the abdomen and may be better tolerated than traditional systemic chemotherapy.

Who Was in the Study?

The study included 15 adults with cancer that had spread to the peritoneal surface.
Most participants had received several previous cancer treatments before joining the trial.

What Did the Researchers Do?

Participants received PIPAC chemotherapy using two drugs (cisplatin and doxorubicin) delivered directly into the abdomen every 4–6 weeks through a laparoscopic procedure. The goal was to assess whether this treatment approach was safe and tolerable, and to collect early information about how well it worked.

What Were the Results?

Safety and Tolerance

PIPAC was found to be feasible and generally safe at the centers involved in the study.
Most patients (about 87 %) were able to receive at least two PIPAC treatments.
Side effects were mostly mild to moderate. Severe side effects were uncommon, and there were no deaths related to the procedure in this study group.

Cancer Response and Outcomes

Some patients had stable disease or experienced small tumor responses on imaging or during surgery.
Most patients saw at least stable cancer measurements, and a few showed signs that cancer remained controlled for a time.
The median time before disease progression (how long the cancer stayed stable before growing again) was about 2.3 months, and the median overall survival was about 17 months in this small group of patients.

What Does This Mean for Patients?

This early clinical trial suggests that PIPAC with cisplatin and doxorubicin is a safe and tolerable approach for delivering chemotherapy directly inside the abdomen for people with advanced abdominal cancer spread. While this study was small and focused on safety, the results give researchers valuable information for future studies that will explore how well PIPAC works and which patients might benefit most.