Cancer treatment adds three years to patients’ lives, trial finds

LATE-STAGE stomach cancer patients are being kept alive for three years with a new technique that bathes the abdomen in warm chemotherapy drugs.

Gastric cancer is one of the deadliest diseases, with the average stage-four patient usually dying within 13 months. But trials by the Mayo Clinic show that patients can be kept alive far longer by removing internal tumours then swishing the stomach and abdominal cavity with chemotherapy drugs heated to 113.9 (45.5C) to kill any microscopic cancer cells.

Researchers found that 96 per cent of patients survived for a year, while 78 per cent were still alive after two years. Some 55 per cent of trial participants were still alive at three years.

Dr Travis Grotz, an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic, said: “People with gastric cancer are usually told they have no hope and no options. Our research team was determined to improve outcomes for these patients so they can have more time with their family and friends.”

“The median survival for most stagefour gastric cancer patients is around 13 months,” added Dr Grotz. “By using this new combination of chemotherapy drugs during hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, more than half of our patients are still alive three years after surgery.”

The team is looking to perform similar procedures robotically in the future. The research was published in the