Inoperable Pancoast tumors treated with hyperthermia-inclusive multimodality therapies

This study aimed to assess the feasibility, efficacy and complication of hyperthermia-inclusive multimodality therapies for patient with inoperable Pancoast tumor.

Five patients with inoperable Pancoast tumor were treated with hyperthermia-inclusive multimodality therapies. They received thermoradiotherapy with/without chemotherapy. Radiation therapy was delivered using 10 MV X-rays with total dose of 68-70 Gy. In the latter half of the radiation therapy hyperthermia was performed for 2-4 sessions once a week with 8 MHz radiofrequency device.

For primary response, 4 tumors showed partial response to the treatment with the exception of 1 tumor who showed stable disease. Only one patient was with a short follow-up period (9 months), all other patients survived 3 years or more without recurrence. Of them, 2 patients were recognized with local recurrence at 38.7 and 42.7 months after treatment and died at 66.9 and 78.5 months after treatment. The other 2 patients are disease-free survivor for 4 and 5 years after treatment. No severe non-hematological toxicity was observed in each patient.

These data suggested that hyperthermia-inclusive multimodality therapies might be a promising approach for inoperable Pancoast tumor.