Many patients are not referred to centers specializing in the treatment of peritoneal malignancies. This survey evaluates Canadian physician attitudes toward the role of cytoreduction in treating colorectal carcinomatosis.
A discrete-choice questionnaire containing a hypothetical scenario surveyed physician preferences for the management of colorectal carcinomatosis.
Three mail-outs yielded a 49% response rate (217 responses). For synchronous colorectal carcinomatosis, 28.6% favoured cytoreduction with or without HIPEC plus systemic chemotherapy, and 18.9% cytoreduction with HIPEC alone. For metachronous carcinomatosis, 27.4% favoured cytoreduction with or without HIPEC plus systemic chemotherapy, and 14.9% cytoreduction with HIPEC alone. For metachronous carcinomatosis with a single liver metastasis, 24.6% favoured cytoreduction with or without HIPEC plus systemic chemotherapy, and 4.6% cytoreduction with HIPEC alone.
Most physicians do not favor cytoreduction in the treatment of colorectal carcinomatosis. Knowledge translation strategies are needed to improve awareness regarding its utility in specific clinical scenarios.