UVA Health offers hope for some Virginians battling advanced abdominal cancers

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- University of Virginia (UVA) Health is offering a new lifeline to some Virginians battling advanced abdominal cancers, providing access to a procedure that previously required patients to travel out of state.

For the past six months, UVA Health cancer surgeon, Dr. Samantha Ruff, has been performing a complex, hours-long treatment combining surgery with heated chemotherapy, giving patients more time and improved quality of life.

"This is an exciting time to have this here at UVA," Ruff said. "It's going to serve a really large group of people in Virginia."

The procedure, known as Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), is for patients with stage four cancers in the abdomen. While primarily utilized for colon and stomach cancers, this procedure can also benefit patients with ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.

Ruff will surgically remove any of visible cancer in the affected area, followed by a 90-minute infusion of heated chemotherapy directly into the abdomen.

"The surgery is like me going into a garden and pulling out all the weeds that I could see," Ruff said. "Giving the chemotherapy in the abdomen is like a weed killer, and trying to get all of the cells or the weeds that I can't see that could grow in the future."

However, patient selection is critical, with surgeons carefully considering the patient's type of cancer, prior surgeries and radiation therapy.

"We want to select patients who are going to have a long-term oncologic benefit and are going to really gain more good quality time," Ruff said.

One of the benefits of this treatment is its potential to reduce or eliminate the need for ongoing systemic therapies.

"You don't have the same side effects that you have with the chemotherapy during a HIPEC that you would necessarily with chemotherapy that's given in an IV," Ruff said.

The procedure, which UVA Health said is typically covered by insurance, requires 10 to 12 hours to in the operating room. Patients can expect a recovery period of 7 to 10 days in the hospital.

Dr. Ruff said that bringing this procedure to patients was a true team effort, with contributions from departments like pre-op anesthesia and nurses.

"Everyone in all the departments have been very supportive of working together to give this like, really great care to these patients," Ruff said.