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Local Hyperthermia with Interstitial Techniques¹

Departments of Radiation Oncology [I. A. B., W. J. A.] and Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology [M. B. L.], University of Alabama in Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35233

The heating of deep visceral tumors with implanted electrodes and with self-regulating ferromagnetic thermoseeds was investigated. Clinical trials on six patients heated with implanted electrodes indicate that good local tumor control can be obtained by application of hyperthermia during a normal course of radiotherapy. The heating method was found practical, and neither toxicity nor severe patient discomfort was encountered. However, temperature inhomogeneity within the tumor volume remains a problem. Theoretical studies and an animal experiment indicate that temperature homogeneity can be largely improved by heating the tumor with thermoseeds made of an alloy of 70.4% nickel and 29.6% copper. The highly temperature-dependent rate of heat production in the vicinity of the Curie point, about 50° for this material, provides automatic temperature regulation.

¹ Presented at the Workshop Conference on Hyperthermia in Cancer Treatment, March 19 to 21, 1984, Tucson, AZ. Supported in part by Comprehensive Cancer Support Grant CA 13148, and a grant by The Friends of Lebanon, Birmingham, AL.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.