Preoperative hyperthermochemoradiotherapy for patients with esophageal carcinoma or rectal carcinoma

Hyperthermia is effective for the treatment of carcinoma when applied concomitantly with chemotherapy and irradiation. However, it is difficult to heat deep portions of the body, such as the esophagus and the rectum. We therefore devised an electrode for radio frequency, and we have been successfully using this electrode in the treatment of both esophageal and rectal carcinoma. The 5 yr survival rates of patients with esophageal carcinoma, given either preoperative hyperthermochemoradiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, were 43.2 and 14.7%, respectively. On the other hand, 11 patients with rectal carcinoma underwent radical surgery after preoperative hyperthermochemoradiotherapy. In the histologic studies of in the resected specimens, patients classified as marked, moderate, mild, and no effectiveness were seen in six, three, two, and zero cases, respectively. Since there were no severe side effects in patients given hyperthermia, this treatment deserves serious consideration when treating patients with malignant lesions in the esophagus or rectum.