📍 Whitefield, Bengaluru
HOD & Senior Consultant · Surgical Oncology
Consultation by Appointment
PIPAC differs from traditional intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy because it delivers a low-dose pressurized aerosol during laparoscopy, rather than a liquid infused through a catheter, and it allows the surgeon to see and biopsy the tumor at each session.
The main differences between PIPAC and traditional IP chemotherapy are:
ePIPAC (electrostatic precipitation PIPAC) is an experimental variation of PIPAC in which the aerosol is electrically charged in an effort to improve drug deposition on the peritoneal surface.
The aim is better drug deposition and less wasted aerosol. ePIPAC is being studied at a small number of centers and has not replaced standard PIPAC.
PIPAC was developed by German surgeon Marc Reymond and colleagues and first used in patients in 2011, making it a relatively recent treatment with a growing research base.
Since then, centers across Europe, Asia and Australia have adopted the technique, and international registries and trials are gathering safety and outcome data.
The Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI) is a score from 0 to 39 that estimates how much peritoneal tumor is present, and the Peritoneal Regression Grading Score (PRGS) grades from 1 to 4 how tumor cells have responded to treatment.
The table below explains how each score is generally read:
| Score | What it measures | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| PCI (0–39) | Tumor size across 13 abdominal regions | Higher score suggests more extensive disease |
| PRGS 1 | Complete response | No tumor cells; fibrosis only |
| PRGS 2 | Major response | Few tumor cells remain |
| PRGS 3 | Minor response | Tumor cells with some regression |
| PRGS 4 | No response | Tumor cells with no regression |
