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Interstitial thermoradiotherapy: review on technical and clinical aspects
M H Seegenschmiedt1, L W Brady, R Sauer
1Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, West Germany.
American Journal of Clinical Oncology
|August 1, 1990
Summary
Interstitial hyperthermia combined with brachycurietherapy is a promising cancer treatment. This thermoradiotherapy approach offers significant advantages and shows high complete response rates, making it effective for tumor palliation.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Radiation Therapy
- Medical Physics
Background:
- Interstitial hyperthermia (IHT) is increasingly used with brachycurietherapy (thermoradiotherapy) as a radio- and chemosensitizer.
- IHT offers advantages over percutaneous methods, including confined treatment volume and better normal tissue sparing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the technical principles and clinical applications of interstitial hyperthermia methods (RF, MW, HS).
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of IHT combined with radiotherapy for palliative tumor treatment.
Main Methods:
- Review of technical principles for radiofrequency (RF), microwave (MW), and hot source (HS) hyperthermia.
- Analysis of clinical phase I/II studies involving over 500 patients treated with interstitial thermoradiotherapy.
Main Results:
- Complete response (CR) rates ranged from 11% to 74% across various techniques.
- Interstitial RF hyperthermia showed a 57% CR (169/299), and MW hyperthermia showed a 60% CR (130/215).
- Acceptable complication rates were observed: 22% for RF and 21% for MW hyperthermia.
Conclusions:
- Interstitial hyperthermia is an effective and safe treatment modality, particularly for tumor palliation when combined with radiotherapy.
- Key prognostic factors include tumor volume, radiation dose, minimum tumor temperature, and thermal parameter quality.
- Technical innovations are expected to improve clinical implementation, with ongoing studies evaluating its role in adjuvant therapy.