Whole-Body Hyperthermia
What is Whole-Body Hyperthermia Therapy?
Hyperthermia therapy (or hyperthermia, or thermotherapy) is a type of medical treatment in which body tissue is exposed to temperatures above body temperature, in the region of 40–45 °C (104–113 °F). Hyperthermia is usually applied as an adjuvant to radiotherapy or chemotherapy, to which it works as a sensitizer, in an effort to treat cancer.
Hyperthermia uses higher temperatures than diathermy and lower temperatures than ablation. When combined with radiation therapy, it can be called thermoradiotherapy.
Candidates of Whole-Body Hyperthermia Therapy
You may benefit from hyperthermia therapy if you have:
- Deep tumors that surgery can’t treat.
- Health conditions that prevent you from having surgery.
- Small tumors near the surface of your skin.
- Tumors in a body cavity.
Cancers Treated With Hyperthermia Therapy
- appendix cancer
- bladder
- brain cancer
- breast
- cervical cancer
- esophageal cancer
- head and neck cancer
- liver
- lung cancer
- melanoma
- mesothelioma
- sarcoma
- rectal cancer
Did You Know:
- The Whole-Body Hyperthermia for chronic infections and chronically inflammatory conditions were considered standard therapy before the introduction of antibiotics and steroids;
- A significant number of so-called spontaneous recovery from cancer, are associated with a febrile infection;
- The research in USA suggests that fever-range whole-body hyperthermia promotes the migration of immune cells into the tumour, and render the tumour more visible to the immune system.
