Purpose: This manuscript reports the results of the Indian Network for Development of Peritoneal Surface Oncology and Indian Society of Peritoneal Surface Malignancies (INDEPSO-ISPSM) consensus that aimed to provide recommendations for some important aspects management of patients with colorectal peritoneal metastases (CPM) and address some issues unique to India.
Methods: The modified Delphi technique was used with two rounds of voting. There were 29 questions on nine main topics-the role of cytoreductive surgery (CRS), patient selection for CRS, preoperative workup, role of systemic chemotherapy (SC), CPM with other visceral metastases, molecular profile, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and other modalities of intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPC), prophylactic/preventive strategies, and surveillances after CRS. A consensus was achieved if anyone option received >70 votes (strong consensus >90%).
Results: Forty-eight surgical (n = 41) and gastrointestinal (n = 7) oncologists were invited; 44 agreed to participate. The response rate was 95.4% (42/44) in round 1 and 93.1% (41/44) in round 2. Overall, a consensus was achieved on 23/29 (79.3%) questions (strong consensus on 6/29 [20.6%]). The panel strongly recommended considering surgery for limited CPM with limited liver metastases (92.5%), not altering the surgical approach in patients with KRAS mutations (91.67%), and limiting the use of IPC for unresectable CPM outside clinical trials (95%). Adjuvant SC was recommended for all patients undergoing CRS (89.47%). CRS is a therapeutic option for selected patients with CPM including those with metachronous CPM (79.49) and signet ring cell cancers (76.92%). HIPEC was recommended outside clinical trials only for patients with peritoneal cancer index 11-15(80%).
Conclusion: The panel recommended CRS for most indications but was very selective in recommending HIPEC and IPC outside clinical trials. These recommendations should be a useful resource in clinical decision making for clinicians treating CPM in India and regions with a similar sociodemographic background.