Deep local tumor hyperthermia is a cancer treatment with scientific validation. Its main objectives are:
1) To increase the efficacy of conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy.
2) To increase the effectiveness of the patient’s own anti-tumor immunity.
3) Destroy tumor cells by locally applied heat.
Applying heat to destroy tumor cells
Deep local tumor hyperthermia consists of raising the temperature in the tumor area to 43ºC by means of electromagnetic fields. To optimize the results of the treatment, between 9 and 12 sessions should be performed in cycles, distributed in 2 or 3 sessions per week. During each session, which lasts about 60 minutes, the patient will be stretched and at rest. During the session, the administration of thermally activatable intravenous treatments can be combined.
Benefits of deep local tumor hyperthermia against cancer
- Destroys tumor cells
Tumor cells are by nature more sensitive, less resistant and less able to adapt to changes in the environment than healthy cells. For this reason, the application of heat on tumor cells results in cell cycle arrest, blocking of their DNA repair mechanisms and stimulation of pathways that ultimately lead to cell death.
- Sensitizes tumor cells
The application of Hyperthermia also produces a situation of cellular “stress” that makes the cells more vulnerable to other treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy, increasing the antitumor response.
- Stimulates the immune response
The situation of cellular stress due to the application of Hyperthermia points them out and makes them more visible and recognizable by the immune system that detects them more easily, which increases its capacity to destroy them, favoring the reduction of the size of the lesions.
- Increases vascular flow in the tumor.
The application of heat through Hyperthermia favors local vasodilatation and increases blood flow to the tumor area, facilitating the drugs administered to the patient (chemotherapy or immunotherapy) to penetrate better and in the affected areas, achieving a double objective: to increase the effectiveness of drugs on the tumor lesion and reduce the toxic effects in other locations.
- Acts on tumor stem cells
It is believed that tumor stem cells are the most resistant to treatment because of their location in the innermost parts of the tumor, where it is very difficult for treatments to reach. Hyperthermia favors the increase of the flow to these innermost areas allowing the access of the drugs and increasing their penetrability in the tumor stem cells.
- No toxic effects on healthy cells
The body’s healthy cells, given their optimal structure and functionality, have the necessary resources to resist adverse environmental conditions up to a certain limit, beyond which they are destroyed. Thus, the application of heat reaching local internal temperatures of between 39.5ºC and 43ºC attacks tumor cells but does not have a toxic effect on healthy cells.
Treating cancer at any stage with local deep tumor hyperthermia
Deep local tumor hyperthermia is useful for treating different types of solid tumors: pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, peritoneal carcinomatosis, liver cancer, liver metastases, brain tumors, osteosarcomas, sarcomas, gastric tumors, renal and urinary tumors or prostate tumors. This treatment can be used to treat patients with tumors in early stages, locally advanced stages or even advanced stages due to the presence of distant metastases.
Experts in deep local tumor hyperthermia
Institut Khuab is a reference center in Oncology and its team is expert in the application of innovative treatments with scientific evidence to treat cancer for more than 15 years, pioneers in the clinical application of Deep Local Tumor Hyperthermia in Spain. They have the first Celsius42 equipment, updated with the latest technical innovations for the application of hyperthermia at greater depth with better results.