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. Hyperthermia is defined as supra-normal body temperatures. There is no consensus as to what is the safest or most effective target temperature for the whole body. During treatment the body temperature reaches a level between . However, other researchers define hyperthermia between (Europe, USA) to near (Japan, Russia). Local hyperthermia heats a very small area and is typically used for cancers near or on the skin or near natural openings in the body (e.g., the mouth). In some instances, the goal is to kill the tumor by heating it, without damaging anything else. The heat may be created with microwave, radiofrequency, ultrasound energy or using magnetic hyperthermia (also known as magnetic fluid hyperthermia)). Depending on the location of the tumor, the heat may be applied to the surface of the body (superficial hyperthermia), inside normal body cavities (intraluminal hyperthermia), or deep in tissue through the use of needles or probes (interstitial hyperthermia). It should not be confused with ablation of small tumors, where higher temperatures (>55 °C) are applied with an aim to kill the tumor cells. Regional hyperthermia heats a larger part of the body, such as an entire organ or limb. Usually, the goal is to weaken cancer cells so that they are more likely to be killed by radiation and chemotherapeutic medications. This may use the same techniques as local hyperthermia treatment, or it may rely on blood perfusion. In blood perfusion, the patient's blood is removed from the body, heated up, and returned to blood vessels that lead directly through the desired body part.