ACROBATIC congratulates Julie Lykke Harbjerg, PhD student at Aahus University, for her oral and poster presentation at ESSO 2025

ACROBATIC congratulates Julie Lykke Harbjerg, PhD student at Aahus University, who received an ACROBATIC travel grant to participate in the 44th Congress of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), held 15–17 October 2025 in Göteborg, Sweden, where she delivered both an oral and poster presentation.

Julie presented her research entitled: “Prophylactic Laparoscopic Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer. Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study: the ProPEC-I Trial”.

About the study:
Introduction:
The prognosis for advanced gastric cancer (GC) remains poor, and only about one-third of patients can be offered curative treatment. Early peritoneal progression during preoperative chemotherapy frequently leads to dropout from curative care. When peritoneal metastasis (PM) occurs, median overall survival is approximately three months. Although chemotherapy can prolong survival, long-term outcomes remain limited.
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has shown potential in preventing PM after surgery for GC. The ProPEC-I Trial is the first prospective, randomized study in Denmark to evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopic HIPEC (LS-HIPEC)—and the first worldwide to investigate the safety of administering LS-HIPEC before preoperative chemotherapy. The study aims to lay the foundation for future research into LS-HIPEC as prophylaxis against early peritoneal progression.

Methods:
This phase I/II randomized feasibility study enrolled 14 patients, assigned 1:1 to either LS-HIPEC or no-HIPEC.
The No-HIPEC group received standard treatment: pre- and postoperative chemotherapy and D1+ gastrectomy.
The HIPEC group received the ProPEC-I regimen: one cycle of LS-HIPEC with 100 mg/m² cisplatin at 40–41°C, administered intraoperatively during diagnostic laparoscopy, followed by standard treatment.
Endpoints included toxicity, morbidity, and quality of life. Survival will be assessed over a five-year follow-up period.

Results:
LS-HIPEC was technically feasible and well tolerated. One serious adverse event occurred in the intervention arm, but it was unrelated to the HIPEC procedure. Importantly, no patients were excluded from curative treatment due to early disease progression.

Conclusions:
LS-HIPEC appears feasible and safe without delaying treatment. Larger, adequately powered trials are needed to assess its potential impact on long-term survival and its role in preventing peritoneal metastasis.

ACROBATIC is delighted to have supported Julie in presenting this pioneering feasibility study on an international stage. Her work contributes valuable knowledge to the field of gastric cancer surgery and helps strengthen collaborations within the surgical oncology community.