Can hyperthermia cure cancer?

Hyperthermia (literally: "increased temperature") is a treatment method that fights cancer cells using heat. Hyperthermia is still in the experimental stage and is therefore certainly not yet a standard treatment.

In hyperthermia, either the entire body or just the malignant tumor is heated with microwaves to a temperature of around 40 degrees. Healthy cells can withstand this temperature, but cancer cells can be damaged. Hyperthermia is almost always combined with another treatment, usually radiation.

The most important forms of hyperthermia are superficial hyperthermia (for tumors that are no deeper than four centimeters under the skin) and deep hyperthermia (for deeper tumors). Local hyperthermia is used in certain hospitals for cervical cancer, melanoma (skin cancer) and for metastases on the scar of a mastectomy; Whole body hyperthermia in certain metastatic cancers.

Author: Prof. Dr. Dirk Devroey - Latest update: 2021-09-29 - Copyright: Clinifacts 2024