Growth delay effect of combined interstitial hyperthermia and brachytherapy in a rat solid tumor model

The rat mammary AC33 solid tumor model was used to investigate the efficacy of interstitial hyperthermia and/or brachytherapy. Subcutaneous flank tumors were heated with an interstitial microwave (915 MHz) antenna to a temperature of 43 +/- 0.5 degrees C for 45 min for two treatments, three days apart, and/or implanted with Ir-192 seeds for three days (-25 Gy tumor dose). Following treatments, tumors were measured 2 to 3 times per week. Hyperthermia alone produced a modest delay in tumor volume regrowth, while brachytherapy was substantially more effective. The combination produced a improvement in tumor regrowth delay compared to brachytherapy alone.