Aerosol Chemotherapy? Poznań Hospital Offers New Chance to Patients with Metastatic Cancer
The Regional Hospital in Poznań has launched a groundbreaking treatment method for metastatic abdominal cancer – PIPAC, according to Wyborcza.pl. This represents an opportunity for patients for whom standard treatments are ineffective or too burdensome. Demand is so high that a dedicated email address had to be launched because patients blocked the facility's hotline. We explain the innovative nature of this therapy.
The Provincial Hospital on Lutycka Street in Poznań has begun conducting modern PIPAC (Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy) procedures for patients with metastatic peritoneal cancer , as reported by Wyborcza.pl. These are patients with advanced stages of ovarian, stomach, colon, and other abdominal cancers for whom standard surgical treatment is no longer an option.
The procedure involves laparoscopically administering chemotherapy in the form of an aerosol directly into the peritoneal cavity, allowing for better drug delivery to the affected tissues. The chemotherapy drug is sprayed under pressure, and the entire procedure takes approximately 50–60 minutes. As Professor Dawid Murawa, surgical oncologist and hospital director, explains:
This method allows the drug to better penetrate cancerous tissues, and its effects can be more effective with fewer side effects. This is especially important for palliative patients for whom other treatment methods are too burdensome or ineffective.
Interest in the innovative PIPAC therapy is enormous in Poland, especially since, until now, patients had to seek such help abroad – in Israel, the cost of a single procedure can reach up to $60,000. News of the procedures in Poznań quickly spread across the media, sparking enormous interest among politicians and celebrities.
The scale of interest in the new procedure was so great that patients jammed the hospital's telephone line trying to contact Professor Murawa and his team. The hospital was forced to launch a dedicated email address through which interested individuals can register for consultations.
Prof. Dawid Murawa emphasizes that despite great hopes associated with PIPAC, not every patient can benefit from this method.
"It's not like PIPAC is a miracle treatment that will cure every cancer patient. It's a procedure we use in specific cases. It won't help with cancer that has spread to the bones or metastasized from the liver or pancreas, " says the surgeon.
The professor notes that intraperitoneal administration of chemotherapy may provide better results than traditional infusions.
However, there's always hope, because this form of chemotherapy is more easily absorbed than standard infusions. Intraperitoneal administration is more effective, explains Murawa.
The doctor trained in the Czech Republic and Spain, where PIPAC therapy is approximately 60% effective, and in 8–15% of patients, the disease can be reversed enough to make surgical treatment feasible.
In response to the growing interest in the PIPAC procedure, the Polish Oncology Society has issued a statement. Experts remind patients that while the procedure is innovative, it requires careful patient selection and must be performed in accordance with the latest medical guidelines.
Source: Wyborcza.pl/MH
Source: Wyborcza.pl Updated: 09/08/2025 13:30
politykazdrowotna
