Dr. Mogal on the Incidence and Prognosis of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis in CRC

Harveshp D. Mogal, MD, MS, FACS, DABS, FSSO, physician, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, associate professor, Department of Surgery, University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine, program director, Regional Cancer Therapies, UW Medicine, discusses the incidence and prognosis of peritoneal carcinomatosis in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Isolated peritoneal carcinomatosis is a challenging complication that occurs in approximately 10% of patients with CRC, Mogal says. Patients with peritoneal disease have inherently poor biology, which makes them difficult to treat. Moreover, patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis have a worse overall prognosis compared with patients with isolated lung or liver metastases, as well as patients with combined lung and liver metastases.

Additionally, systemic therapies that are effective in treating patients with isolated lung or liver metastases are not as effective in patients with peritoneal disease. The median survival with modern chemotherapy is approximately 18 months in patients with peritoneal disease. The addition of sequential targeted therapy to chemotherapy can extend survival to around 29 months, but more effective systemic agents are needed for this disease subgroup, Mogal concludes.