Preliminary results of the use of intraperitoneal carbon-adsorbed mitomycin C in intra-abdominal malignancy.

Eleven patients suffering from intra-abdominal malignancy were treated with various doses of intraperitoneal mitomycin C adsorbed onto activated carbon particles. Seven of the patients underwent resection of their primary gastric tumour and all developed potentially life-threatening severe complications that proved to be fatal in four patients. The pattern of complications seen in these patients was unusual in patients undergoing gastrectomy and must be presumed to be secondary to the intraperitoneal mitomycin C. Intraperitoneal mitomycin C at a dose of 25 mg and 50 mg in the presence of an anastomosis or other suture line does not appear to be safe.