Systematic review about complementary medical hyperthermia in oncology

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Physics
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• Hyperthermia, using heat at approximately 42°C, can enhance conventional chemo- or radiotherapy for cancer.
• Standard hyperthermia shows clinical benefit with monitored tumor temperatures.
• Alternative hyperthermia methods, such as whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) and electro hyperthermia (EH), require further evidence assessment.

Approach:

• A systematic search of five databases (Embase, Cochrane, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Medline) was conducted from April 26 to May 9, 2021.
• 53 publications involving 2006 cancer patients were included, encompassing whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) and electro hyperthermia (EH).
• Study designs included 32 single-arm studies, 6 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and 1 systematic review (SR).

Key Points:

• The review assessed tumor response, survival data, pain relief, myelosuppression, and toxicities as critical endpoints.
• Outcomes were heterogeneous across studies.
• Methodological limitations were identified in the included research.

Conclusions:

• Clinical evidence for the benefit of alternative hyperthermia (EH and WBH) in cancer patients is lacking due to methodological limitations.
• Neither whole-body hyperthermia nor electro hyperthermia has demonstrated improved survival or quality of life in cancer patients.
• Further rigorous research is needed to establish the efficacy and safety of alternative hyperthermia in oncology.