Intraoperative administration of taurolidine versus povidone-iodine in patients with colon-, gastric-, and pancreatic cancer. A prospective randomised multicenter trial

Aims: During resection of abdominal malignancies cytokines are released. The antineoplastic agent taurolidine reduces intraperitoneal tumor growth in animals and the level of interleukin–1beta (IL–1b), which is a strong stimulator of cell growth. Although povidone-iodine is frequently used for intraabdominal lavage, the substance has no effect on cytokines. Thus, taurolidine might have an impact on the recurrence rate or survival. Materials and methods: We set up a prospective randomised multicenter trial to assess the effect of intraperitoneal use of taurolidine versus povidone-iodine on IL–1b levels. 120 patie…