Hyperthermia is a specialized therapy that involves heating select tumors to 108 to 110 degrees for up to an hour. Nisar Syed, MD, director of radiation oncology at the Todd Cancer Institute has treated more than 3,000 patients with hyperthermia over the past 20 years. The most common tumor sites considered for hyperthermia are head and neck, prostate, cervix, melanoma, sarcoma and chest wall recurrences.

How does it work?
Certain cancer cells can become resistant to cancer treatment when they become oxygen-starved due to poor blood supply. Heat application causes increased blood flow and oxygen to the tumor which makes the cancer cells more susceptible to cell death. Hyperthermia is always preceded or followed by radiation or chemotherapy because it enhances their effectiveness up to 10 times.

How are the treatments given?
Hyperthermia can be delivered externally or internally. An external device, similar to a heating pad, is used for tumors close to the skin’s surface. For all others, small wires are inserted into surgically implanted hollow tubes and energized with microwaves to heat the tumor. The implanted tubes are removed when all treatments are complete.

Benefits of Hyperthermia

• Hyperthermia has been used for many decades with consistent results.
• Hyperthermia has been shown to improve survival in recurrent or hard-to-treat cancers.
• The procedure is virtually painless.
• Hyperthermia makes cancer cells vulnerable while preserving surrounding healthy tissue.