Hemophagocytic syndrome: an unusual and underestimated complication of cytoreduction surgery with heated intraperitoneal oxaliplatin.

Background Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) improves the survival of select patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis. Hemophagocytic syndrome (HS) is a rare and potentially fatal disease. We describe our experience with five patients who developed HS following oxaliplatin HIPEC and propose a management procedure.