The Effects of Cisplatin Based Heated Intra-Peritoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) on Ovarian Cancer DNA Damage & Repair

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer affecting nearly 20,000 women yearly in the United States. Standard treatment is grueling, involving harsh chemotherapy, followed by surgery, and more chemotherapy. Tragically, women undergo months of intense treatment, only to have the cancer return a few months later. Often, when the cancer recurs, it has developed resistance to chemotherapy, which is universally fatal. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to study the ways in which tumors develop this resistance in order to develop methods to overcome it or alter the treatment plan accordingly. In this study, we aim to investigate the molecular and genetic changes that occur in ovarian cancer tissue following treatment with heated intra-abdominal chemotherapy (HIPEC). We plan to use tissue samples from the same patient, taken at the time of their diagnosis as well as before and after HIPEC treatment. This study presents a novel approach using standard of care procedures to maximize the knowledge gained without added burden on the patients. Understanding the molecular changes that occur in cancer cells as a result of HIPEC may help us identify new treatment strategies and improve outcomes and quality of life for women afflicted with this deadly disease.