Primary peritoneal cancer (PPC) is cancer that forms in the peritoneum—the tissue that lines the abdominal wall and covers organs in the abdomen—and has not spread there from another part of the body. Cancer sometimes begins in the peritoneum and spreads to the ovary. PPC cells are the same as the most common type of ovarian cancer cells because the lining of the abdomen and the surface of the ovary come from the same tissue. PPC is treated in the same way we treat ovarian cancer. (See Ovarian Cancer)
Treatment Options for Peritoneal Cancer
Cytoreduction is surgery to remove all of the tumor. It is often used in combination with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which is a chemotherapy “bath” that delivers heated chemotherapy directly into the abdominal cavity, where it penetrates the diseased tissue directly.