Hyperthermia therapy (GKHT; whole-body hyperthermia) is a hyperthermia therapy of cancer patients in which cancer cells are destroyed by exposure to heat.
Mechanisms of action of hyperthermia (HT)
The effect of hyperthermia therapy is essentially based on a direct hyperthermic cytotoxicity (” property to act as a cell toxin “. Furthermore, the procedure is used in the sense of a radiosensitizer, which after its administration selectively increases the sensitivity of malignant (malignant) cells to ionizing radiation.
Immunomodulation (alteration of the body’s defense system) is another effect of hyperthermia: heat shock proteins (e.g., HSP 70) activate natural killer cells (NK cells), phagocytes (scavenger cells) such as granulocytes (white blood cells), and also dendritic cells (present antigens, especially the T lymphocyte).
Indications (areas of application)
- Locally advanced breast carcinoma (breast cancer) growing beyond the breast.
- Head and neck tumors and their often very large lymph node metastases.
- Anal carcinoma (anal cancer) (here: Deep HT plus standard RCT/simultaneous combination of radio- and chemotherapy (RCT)).
- Cervical carcinoma (cervical cancer) (here: thermoradiotherapy).
- Urinary bladder cancer (here: adjuvant treatment (prophylactic) after transurethral bladder resection (TURB) to reduce the likelihood of tumor recurrence).
- Rectal cancer (rectal cancer) including a rectal cancer recurrence (recurrence of rectal cancer).
- Prostate cancer
- Malignant melanoma
- Sarcoma – soft tissue sarcomas (malignant (malignant) tumors (sarcomas) that arise from the soft tissues of the body).
The procedure
The prerequisite for the development of hyperthermia therapy was the fact that in cancer patients with fever, a decrease in cancer cells – that is, a heat sensitivity of the cells – could be detected.The heat sensitivity of cancer cells is the basis of hyperthermia therapy: halogen light passed through water heats the body under a light anesthesia – usually with the exception of the head – over a long period of time to about 42 °C in several treatment steps. The effect of hyperthermia depends essentially on the temperature reached: above 42.5 °C the overheating has a cytotoxic effect, i.e. it kills cells. In order not to overload the circulation through the high, fever-like heat supply, the patient usually receives supplemental oxygen and is monitored by means of an electrocardiogram (ECG). Hyperthermia therapy is a complementary therapy, which is carried out in addition to surgery or chemotherapy – or as the only therapeutic measure.
Hyperthermia is used for locally advanced tumors, i.e. tumors that grow beyond the respective organ, which are not operable and which cannot be sufficiently cured by radiotherapy (radiation therapy) or chemotherapy.Hyperthermia is also performed together with radiotherapy in such cases. This is then referred to as thermoradiotherapy (HTRT; hyperthermia radiotherapy).
See also under “Local hyperthermia (locoregional hyperthermia)” – there is increasingly valid literature on this procedure.
Benefits
If classical cancer therapy has failed for you or you are looking for a complementary treatment method, hyperthermia therapy offers another good option.
