[Radiation exposure and local hyperthermia in the treatment of prostatic cancer]

During the recent two decades, radiation therapy has become a major intervention for prostatic cancer, especially in patients without remote metastases. Most recently local hyperthermia has been recruited for selective potentiation of radiation effects on the tumor. This study involved 81 patients with the prostatic cancer T2-4NxM0. All patients had adenocarcinoma of variable malignant potential. Group 1 (n = 24) received only megavoltage radiation therapy while Group 2 (n = 57) was additionally treated with local microwave hyperthermia. A Yalik-F device (USSR) with electromagnetic frequency 460 MHz was used. Special intracavitary irradiating aerials were designed and employed. While symptoms of neoplasia are lacking 2 years following radiation therapy in 13 of 24 patients of Group 1, this response was obtained in 10 of 12 patients of Group 2 (54 +/- 5% and 83 +/- 10%, respectively). Two-year survival rates after radiation and thermoradiation therapy were 81 +/- 8% and 92 +/- 8%, respectively. Asymptomatic progress is seen in 40 +/- 10% and 75 +/- 12% of the patients. These results suggest that local hyperthermia as an adjuvant to radiation therapy will improve the efficacy of therapy in patients with prostatic cancer.