Preoperative thermochemotherapy of oral cancer using magnetic induction hyperthermia (Implant Heating System: IHS)

Eight patients with primary cancer of the oral cavity were preoperatively treated by combined treatment with hyperthermia and chemotherapy. They received two courses of chemotherapy, which included intra-arterial infusion of 100 mg of cisplatin (CDDP) and 25 mg of peplomycin (PEP) via the superficial temporal artery. The patients also received interstitial hyperthermia for 45 min once a week using the Implant Heating System (IHS) with chemotherapy. IHS consists of ferromagnetic implant, induction coil and generator to produce high frequency magnetic field. The ferromagnetic implant is made of Fe-Pt alloy (Fe: 73%, Pt: 27%), and has a Curie temperature of 68 degrees C. As a result, clinical complete response (CR) was observed in seven patients and partial response (PR) in one, and postoperative pathological examination showed no residual tumour cells in any specimen. Combined interstitial hyperthermia by IHS and chemotherapy is thus found to be an effective therapeutic method for treating oral cancers.