Hyperthermia therapy, also called thermotherapy, is a cancer treatment in which body tissue is deliberately heated to temperatures of roughly 40 to 45 degrees Celsius, well above normal body temperature. It is generally used as an adjuvant given alongside radiotherapy or chemotherapy, where the added heat acts as a sensitizer that makes the primary treatment more effective against the tumor; combined specifically with radiation therapy, the approach is sometimes called thermoradiotherapy. Hyperthermia therapy uses lower temperatures than ablation techniques, which aim to destroy tissue outright, and higher temperatures than diathermy, a distinct middle option among heat-based medical treatments.
Facts
Origin YearMarks Westermark 1898 report of tumor regression from localized hyperthermia treatment of cervical carcinoma, the earliest case the cited source names as part of hyperthermia cancer-therapy history, distinct from far older ancient use of heat on tumors recorded separately in the same article. Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthermia_therapy, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthermia_therapy, lead section
Hyperthermia therapy (or hyperthermia, or thermotherapy) is a type of medical treatment in which body tissue is exposed to temperatures above body temperature, in the region of 40-45 °C (104-113 °F).
2. Wikipedia: Hyperthermia Therapy
WikipediaHistory sectionQuote, History section
Around the same period Westermark used localized hyperthermia to produce tumor regression in patients.
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