# Intraperitoneal Perfusion with Cisplatin or Mitomycin C Improves Survival in Mice Bearing Peritoneal Metastases from Ovarian Cancer

## TL;DR

A mouse model shows that intraperitoneal chemotherapy with cisplatin or mitomycin C improves survival in ovarian cancer with peritoneal metastases, but adding heat does not enhance the effect.

## Contribution

A novel mouse model for evaluating intraperitoneal chemotherapy protocols in ovarian cancer metastases is developed and tested.

## Key findings

- Perfusion with cisplatin and mitomycin C significantly inhibited tumor growth and increased survival by 38–48%.
- Hyperthermia did not improve survival despite showing synergistic effects in vitro.
- The model successfully mimics peritoneal metastases for testing chemotherapy protocols.

## Abstract

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) following cytoreductive surgery is a potentially curative treatment for patients with peritoneal metastases. Currently, there is no standardized protocol for performing HIPEC and there is large variation in the key parameters. In vivo models can be a valuable tool to better understand the impact of these parameters and how to improve this treatment strategy.

Peritoneal tumors were established in immunodeficient mice by intraperitoneal injection of the high-grade serous human ovarian cancer cell line B76. Thirty-minute perfusion with cisplatin or mitomycin C at 37 or 41 °C was performed 4 days later. Treatment efficacy was assessed by measuring bioluminescence and overall survival.

We successfully established a closed peritoneal chemotherapy perfusion model in mice bearing peritoneal metastases. Perfusion with cisplatin and mitomycin C significantly inhibited tumor growth and increased overall survival by 38–48%. The addition of hyperthermia did not improve survival, although a clear synergistic effect with hyperthermia was observed in vitro for both drugs.

The results suggest that intraperitoneal perfusion of cisplatin and mitomycin C can be a valuable adjuvant to cytoreductive surgery, while the addition of moderate hyperthermia did not improve efficacy. Additional studies investigating long-term outcome are necessary to determine the impact of hyperthermia as a component of the HIPEC procedure.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1245/s10434-025-18025-x.