Recent advances in thermal treatment techniques and thermally induced immune responses against cancer

In the past decades, techniques for tumor diagnosis and treatment have been significantly advanced. However, the five-year survival rate of cancer patients remains low. New modalities are highly desirable based on technology innovation and translational medicine. In this paper, recent outcomes of thermal ablation techniques are reviewed, including thermal energy delivery methods, thermally induced immune responses in depth. It is suggested that the synergy of local thermal ablation and thermally induced whole body immune response could be a promising direction for effective cancer therapy in the near future, especially for highly metastatic tumor.