[Comment] Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for ovarian cancer: long-term findings from the OVHIPEC-1 trial

In 2018, data from the first randomised controlled trial (OVHIPEC-1 trial) on the use of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in ovarian cancer showed that, among patients with FIGO stage III cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and interval debulking surgery, those who additionally received HIPEC with cisplatin 100 mg/m2 had a significant benefit in progression-free and overall survival compared with those who did not after a median follow-up period of 4·7 years.1 After publication of the study, aspects of the trial’s methodology (eg, the small sample size and lack of stratification for FIGO stage and BRCA mutational status) and results (eg, the higher rate of stomas in the HIPEC group and the HIPEC toxicity profile) were widely criticised, which led to a non-universal agreement on the oncological benefit of HIPEC.