Peritoneal surface malignancies and regional treatment: a review of the literature.

Recent studies have lead to a renewed interest in cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy as a regional treatment modality for patients with peritoneal surface malignancies. There have been multiple phase III randomized trials that have shown a survival advantage with intraperitoneal chemotherapy in certain patients. More well designed phase III studies are needed to further define which groups of patients may benefit from cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy.