Hyperthermia for brain tumors: improved delivery with a new cooling system

Hyperthermia has emerged as an adjunct to other forms of brain tumor therapy. Interstitial microwave irradiation is an effective method of inducing localized brain hyperthermia. One of the problems with this technique, however, is the overheating of tissue adjacent to the antenna. In this study, a cooling system for the interstitial microwave antenna was developed for the purpose of providing uniform and accurate heating by the elimination of overheating. The ability to generate more uniform hyperthermic fields was evaluated in normal monkey brains. Six monkeys under general anesthesia and controlled respiration underwent parietooccipital craniectomies 4 x 4 cm in size. The antenna cooling system was constructed of a silicone tube 5.0 mm in outer diameter. Silicone-coated interstitial microwave antennae 1.5 mm in diameter were used. A single antenna or a square array (1.6 cm on a side) of 4 antennae was inserted into the brain with the coupled system to a depth of 2 cm. The brain tissue was heated by 2450-MHz microwave irradiation. Temperature distributions were mapped using nonperturbing thermocouples. These thermal profiles were compared with those generated without the cooling system. In the experiments with the single antenna, the antenna cooling system eliminated the overheating and rapid radial falloff in temperature, without a reduction of the hyperthermic field. In the four-antennae experiments using the cooling system, the thermal field was dramatically flattened with minimal reduction in size; however, the area maintained at a therapeutic temperature range (42-45 degrees C) was significantly enlarged by the cooling system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)