Techniques for Avoiding Surgical Complications in Chemotherapy-Treated Cancer Patients

Abstract

With the development of more effective antineoplastic drugs for the treatment of solid malignant tumors, the use of systemic chemotherapy in the perioperative period has become increasingly attractive. Strategies have evolved for administering chemotherapy preoperatively to render large tumors more easily resected, intraoperatively in isolation-perfusion systems (often in combination with hyperthermia), and postoperatively as an adjuvant or to treat residual disease. It is possible, however, that the benefits of perioperative chemotherapy may be offset by an increase in the incidence of complications, particularly with respect to wound healing. The well-known toxic effects of chemother-apeutic agents on actively replicating normal cells suggest that antineoplastic drugs could easily lead to wound problems such as infection or dehiscence.