Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), a new stage IV cancer treatment method conceived about 20 years ago, is a global game-changer in improving survival rates, however, not many patients in the UAE are getting this treatment due to a lack of awareness in the medical community.

Understanding HIPEC and its application

“HIPEC is a new procedure that only became available in the UAE in the last decade or so,” said Dr. Salem Al Harthi, Consultant of General Surgery and Chairman of the Department at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, who is considered a pioneer of HIPEC surgery in the country. He had handled the UAE’s first HIPEC case with his team at Mafraq hospital in October 2014.

HIPEC surgery is offered to patients that have an advanced stage of cancer that originates from the ovaries, colon, rectum, appendix, stomach and mesothelioma, in the absence of cancer spread outside the abdominal cavity.