Hyperthermia and Cancer

If you have Cancer and are looking for a proven adjunct treatment that will increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, then Hyperthermia is one of the options you should consider.

In fact, this breakthrough therapy has proven in numerous clinical trials that it enhances the effectiveness of conventional treatments and minimizes their side effects.

Moreover some of the most prestigious cancer clinics, like the famous Cancer Centers of America, are already using Local Hyperthermia to treat some types of cancer.

What is Hyperthermia and how does it help in treating cancer?

Studies have shown that cancer tumors are much more vulnerable to heat than normal healthy tissue. So the Hyperthermia treatment for cancer consists on delivering heat to the cancer tumor or the cancer affected areas of the body to selectively weaken and damage cancer cells.

By doing this, it becomes possible to kill these cancer cells more effectively and with smaller doses of chemotherapy drugs or radiation.

Hyperthermia can be used by heating the entire body of the patient. This procedure is called Whole-body Hyperthermia. It consists on immersing the patient in a hot water bed or infrared sauna and raising his body temperature for one or two hours depending on the cases. During this period, the patient's vital body functions are closely monitored to prevent any possible complications.

The chemotherapy drugs are administered right when the cancer cells start to get damaged by the heat. This makes chemotherapy much more effective even in smaller doses. And since the needed doses are much smaller, the patient suffers fewer side effects.

Hyperthermia can also be applied directly to the tumor site or the cancer affected organ or limb. This procedure is called Loco-Regional Hyperthermia.

There are many approaches for applying hyperthermia locally. Generally, heat is delivered to the tumor site using special devices that generate heat through Radiofrequencies or Microwaves. Then the tumors are targeted with radiation. This method has proven to be effective even on tumors that were initially resistant to radiation therapy.

Hyperthermia can also be used on tumors that are located inside body cavities such as the rectum or the esophagus. The procedure used in these cases is called Endocavitary or Intraluminal Hyperthermia. A special probe is inserted inside the body cavity where the cancer is located and heat is delivered directly to the tumors.

During this procedure, imaging techniques are used to make sure that the heating probes are properly positioned on the tumors. Moreover, special thermometers are inserted along with heating probe to control the temperature in the treated area.

The patients undergoing hyperthermia treatment can suffer minor temporary side effects such as blisters and minor burns, but these side effects can be managed easily.