PHOENIX (June 5, 2008) – The Radiation Oncology department at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center will soon use hyperthermia to treat superficial tumors, primarily those tumors following mastectomy and certain lymph node tumors in head and neck cancers.
Oncologists have known for years that localized heat can kill or weaken cancer cells while healthy cells remain safe. “Hyperthermia applies heat to the tumor which allows radiation and chemotherapies to be more effective in attacking tumors,” said Gerald Lucas, MD, medical director for Radiation Oncology at Banner Good Samaritan. “The therapy helps to sensitize the tumor area so that a lower dose of radiation in combination with the heat is as effective as a high dose of radiation alone.
“It’s not a high, extreme heat but a temperature between 42 and 45 degrees Celsius (109 and 114 degrees Fahrenheit), about the temperature of an average hot tub.”
The process works in four steps: First, microwave-generated heat kills or weakens the cells of the tumor. Second, heat increases blood flow through the weakened tumor, which can allow therapies to permeate the tumor, not just attack it from the outside. Third, increased blood flow raises oxygen levels in tumors so that the cancer can be more effectively treated by radiation therapy. Fourth, when the body senses fever it stimulates the natural immune system, attacking the cancerous cells. For these reasons, hyperthermia is usually used in combination with radiation therapy.
During hyperthermia, the patient’s skin is protected by using chilled water to cool the skin while the microwave energy penetrates to the tumor. There is also an option for interstitial hyperthermia to treat recurrent or progressive cancerous tumors located below the skin surface.
“A good example of a patient will be a woman who had a mastectomy for breast cancer, maybe had prior radiation treatment, and she develops a chest wall recurrence,” Dr. Lucas said. “The physician has been limited in what can be done with these superficial tumors since full course re-radiation would likely lead to complications with healthy tissue.
“Hyperthermia allows the physician to re-treat some patients who previously had few options. Also, hyperthermia would benefit a patient with a chest wall recurrence who has not received radiation treatment because they would probably get a better result.”
The hyperthermia machine is
portable and can deliver
therapy to both superficial
and interstitial tumors. |
Dr. Lucas adds that while some tumor cells may recover following radiation therapy, hyperthermia in combination with radiation will not only kill some cells directly but might impair the cell’s ability to recover.
Hyperthermia treatment has been used since the early 1980s, but fell out of favor when certain studies were inconclusive. More recent research and results in European countries have shown it to be successful in superficial tumors, particularly with recurrant breast cancer. Banner Good Samaritan is the only center in Arizona and much of the Southwest using hyperthermia.
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center has been providing medical care to Arizona and the Southwest since 1911. Banner Good Samaritan is owned and operated by Phoenix-based Banner Health, a not-for-profit organization, and is a flagship hospital within the system. The hospital was recently named to U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” list for Gynecology, Heart and Heart Surgery, Kidney Disease and Urology. Banner Good Samaritan has been recognized as a Magnet facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the highest honor a hospital can earn for its nursing care and practices.
Contact:
Banner Good Samaritan Public Relations
(602) 239-4411