Scots at forefront of radical cancer op

A team at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee is using specialised surgery and targeted chemotherapy to help patients with colorectal cancer. The centre is the first in Scotland to offer the technique, which is only available at two other sites in the UK.

The procedure - known as peritonectomy and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy - involves major surgery, opening up the abdomen to expose cancerous tissue.

Surgeons then remove the visible signs of cancer and the affected parts of the peritoneum - the thin membrane that lines the inside of the abdomen. This is followed by chemotherapy drugs being delivered at high temperatures to internal organs, effectively washing away microscopic tumorous tissue that might otherwise go undetected.

Consultant surgeon Francesco Polignano hailed the technique yesterday as having the potential to help patients who may otherwise survive only a few months. He said the team had recorded very successful results in about ten patients who had undergone the procedure.

"When a patient has this form of cancer, it is almost as if they have 'mould spots' all over their abdomen and this new procedure actually washes over these areas and kills the microscopic tumours," he said.

The surgeon said the introduction of the procedure was a "tremendous step forward" as the outlook for patients whose cancer had spread to the peritoneum was normally "pretty grim".

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Research suggests that the treatment can help to extend life and even provide a cure in up to 40 per cent of suitable patients. Traditional chemotherapy would give a life expectancy unlikely to exceed 12 months in most cases.

But Mr Polignano said the treatment would not be suitable in every case. "It is a very major procedure. It is only being done in two other places in the UK - in Manchester and Basingstoke," he said. "It is very specialised and the patient has to be fit because the procedure is quite intense."

FRESH HOPE

Euan Smylie, 49, was one of the first patients to benefit from the new form of cancer treatment being used by surgeons in Dundee.

He underwent lengthy surgery to remove a suspected benign growth near to his appendix. But, unfortunately, it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his bowel and peritoneum – the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen.

"I learned that peritoneal cancer cannot be effectively treated with normal chemotherapy since there is very limited blood supply to that part of the body," said Mr Smylie.

"The wonderful care from the Ninewells' team means that I am already living a full and active life once again.

"From the depths of despair six months ago to believing that anything is possible is all down to the team at Ninewells who are carrying out this surgery."

"Potentially, around 360 patients in Scotland could benefit from this procedure."

Liz Woolf, the head of Cancer Research UK's patient information website CancerHelp UK, said: welcomed a new treatment option, but said it was too early to make judgments about the procedure. "There are very few options for patients with this type of cancer and it's encouraging to see new treatments being developed to help them."