Hyperthermochemoradiotherapy and esophageal carcinoma

Cancer of the esophagus still poses considerable treatment problems, with a poor 5-year survival rate after surgery, an even worse outlook after radiation and surgery, and a not very satisfactory response to chemotherapy. After several years of continued research, in 1983 we developed a Radio Frequency System with endotract electrode and thermosensors for administering hyperthermochemoradiotherapy to patients with carcinoma of the esophagus. Results in 129 patients are discussed. Immediate improvement of subjective complaints and decrease or elimination of the cancer lesion are so distinct that this treatment, by means of an endotract antenna, shows promise as a modality for esophageal lesions and may find application in diseases such as colorectal cancer or carcinoma of the uterine cervix.