Hyperthermia is a viable treatment option for a variety of cancer types.
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Hyperthermia is a viable treatment option for a variety of cancer types.
Hyperthermia is an FDA-approved treatment for all solid tumors in combination with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. As a result, we can help many patients with a variety of tumor types. If you have a rare tumor or a tumor not specifically mentioned here, we encourage you to contact us. We can help determine whether hyperthermia should be part of your treatment plan.
Hyperthermia uses targeted ultrasound heat to disrupt cancer cell membranes and increase blood flow to the tumor, making it more vulnerable both to the body’s natural immune defenses and to other cancer therapies. When paired with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, hyperthermia allows for deeper chemical penetration at a higher concentration rate than otherwise possible. This makes radiation therapy and chemotherapy more effective.
Hyperthermia therapy is a gentle, non-invasive heat-based treatment. Using ultrasonic technology, tumors are targeted with heat which disrupts cell membranes and increases blood flow to the tumor. This increased blood flow makes tumors more susceptible to the body’s natural immune defenses and to other cancer therapies, such as radiation and chemotherapy.
Hyperthermia, when combined with chemotherapy, increases the likelihood of a complete response in ovarian cancers. Hyperthermia has no negative impact on healthy tissue, and treatment comes with virtually no side effects. This means organs such as the liver, small and large bowel, and bladder are not adversely affected by adding hyperthermia to your ovarian treatment plan.
Our ultrasonic heat-based technology can specifically treat the face, neck, scalp, and lymph nodes anywhere on the head and neck. We can also treat the breasts, the chest wall, the mediastinum where the esophagus, trachea, and many lymph nodes are located. In addition, treatment is available for the pleura that lines the lungs, and for some tumors in the lungs.
Hyperthermia treatment can also apply to organs in the abdomen and the pelvis. Other treatable areas include the prostate gland, male and female genitalia, and the rectum and anus. In addition, hyperthermia is a viable option to treat all four limbs including bones, the spine, and the axilla (armpit).
Ultrasound energy is used to heat the tumor during hyperthermia therapy. At HCI, we can treat any area of the body where a diagnostic ultrasound can yield useful information. For example, since ultrasound waves cannot travel well through air, you cannot use ultrasound to diagnose a tumor that is deep within the lung.
This means tumors in the central part of the lung, such as primary lung cancer or metastases that have spread into the lung, cannot effectively be treated with hyperthermia as they are surrounded by air. The best way to see if hyperthermia can help you is by contacting our patient care team. Since early treatment is the most successful, we encourage you to reach out to our cancer center in Irvine as soon as a diagnosis is received.