Hyperthermia

Hyperthermia is a targeted, non-invasive cancer therapy that is used to treat cancers in combination with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy.

Multiple scientific and clinical studies demonstrate improved clinical outcomes with no to minimal side effects and no known adverse effects on healthy cells. Our results show hyperthermia works best in conjunction with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. We have treated patients who request only hyperthermia and are clinically suited for only hyperthermia. All treatment plans are individualized. If you have decided to only have hyperthermia, it is best to call us so we can determine if it will be beneficial to your treatment plan.

The Hyperthermia Experience

This effective cancer treatment uses ultrasound technology to carefully direct heat to the location of the tumor at depths in the body of up to 10 cm beyond our body’s natural layer of fat. During treatment, ultrasound energy slowly increases the temperature of the tumor up to approximately 109°F (43°C). The tumor remains at that temperature for approximately 45 minutes and treatment is typically well tolerated by patients.

The entire hyperthermia treatment session usually lasts about 45 minutes to an hour and is delivered in a relaxed environment during which time you can read, listen to music, or watch television. Side effects, if any, tend to be minimal and hyperthermia creates no known long-term complications or detrimental effects on healthy tissue. Working with you and your physician, our hyperthermia physician, Joseph J. Pinzone, MD, will determine the number of sessions best tailored to your needs, which will typically track with your radiation and/or chemotherapy regimen.

Reasons to Consider Hyperthermia

Improved Outcomes

With approximately 40 years of clinical experience, data from numerous research studies show hyperthermia improves treatment outcomes in a wide range of cancers. Hyperthermia is a non-invasive therapy that stimulates and increases blood flow, increases oxygenation, and makes the tumor more sensitive and vulnerable to the body’s natural immune defenses as well as to radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy.

Activates Your Immune Response Against Cancer

Hyperthermia helps to improve your body’s ability to fight cancer by triggering natural immune defenses, similar to giving the tumor and surrounding tissue a very high fever. The heat causes the release of many factors including heat shock proteins (HSPs) that prime and stimulate your body’s natural immune cells. When the cancer cells are destroyed, the abnormal proteins inside the cells are often recognized as ‘foreign’ and the primed, stimulated immune cells can react against the cancer cells.

Directly Disrupts the Growth of Cancer Cells

When hyperthermia is applied to the body, the heat can directly damage the tumor cells including the cell membrane, nucleus, and cell skeleton, causing cancer cell death.

Improves the Effectiveness of Radiation Therapy And/Or Chemotherapy

By increasing blood flow to tumors, hyperthermia causes tumor cells to become more vulnerable to both radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. The increased oxygen brought by the blood helps to improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy and the increase in blood flow allows for a greater concentration of chemotherapy drugs to flow throughout the tumor. In addition, the heat inhibits cancer cell DNA repair, causing more cancer cell death than with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy alone.