Interstitial thermoradiotherapy: The University of Arizona experience

Although the first use of hyperthermia in the treatment of cancer was reported in the 19th century, the use of hyperthermia as a treatment modality has been developing rapidly only over the last 10–12 years. The primary limitation of hyperthermic therapy continues to be related to the difficulty of ensuring that the tumor is heated adequately. Dewhirst and Sim have demonstrated the importance of adequate heating for tumor response in pet animal trials. Heating methods can be characterized roughly as regional techniques and local techniques. The former deposit power over a large region and rely upon special properties of the tumor to result in higher tumor temperatures. Ferromagnetic implants are the most recent interstitial technique to be introduced into the clinic. The principal advantage of ferromagnetic implants is that the heating depends only on the implant materials and the array configuration.