HYPERTHERMIA: Hyperthermia is the use of heat to treat cancer. When cells in the body are subjected to higher-than-normal temperatures, changes take place within the cells that make them more likely to be affected by radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Very high temperatures can kill cancer cells directly. The idea of using hyperthermia to treat cancer has been around for some time. However, early attempts to treat cancer with heat had mixed results. It was hard to maintain the right temperature in the desired area while limiting the effects on other parts of the body. Newer technologies have made this more practical, and hyperthermia is now being studied for use against many types of cancer.

HYPERTHERMIA FOR CANCER: There are two main ways in which hyperthermia can be used to treat cancer. One way is to use very high temperatures to destroy a small area of cells such as a tumor. This is commonly referred to as local hyperthermia or thermal ablation. The second way is to raise the temperature of part of the body or the whole body to a high temperature, which may allow other types of cancer treatments such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy to work better. This is known as either regional or whole body hyperthermia.

THE STUDY: In a recent study conducted at Duke University, 21 women with locally advanced breast cancer were enrolled in the 12-week trial to test whether hyperthermia could help shrink their tumors and if so, by how much. Each woman received radiation therapy for between five and six weeks, with treatments given on five days each week. Then, the hyperthermia treatment was given to each woman twice each week during the five and six weeks of therapy. For the hyperthermia treatment, each woman lay on a specially designed table for an hour, with her breast in a pool of water warmed by heat waves.

THE RESULTS: A majority of the women who underwent hyperthermia along with radiation therapy experienced a significant reduction in tumor size. In some cases, tumors were reduced enough so that the women could undergo lumpectomy instead of mastectomy. In a few cases, the hyperthermia treatments completely eliminated the tumors. Researchers also reported that the women tended to experience fewer side effects with hyperthermia than with standard radiation alone.

TO PARTICIPATE: Several cancer centers in the United States have ongoing clinical trials on hyperthermia and radiation. Other center are studying if hyperthermia can help patients after they receive chemotherapy. Ask your doctor if he/she knows of any studies in your area. If you'd like to find out whether you can participate in the clinical trial at Duke University, call for an appointment: (919) 660-1278