Local Hyperthermia for Pharyngeal Cancer

Pharyngeal Cancer Treatment: Local Hyperthermia

Hyperthermia exposes cancerous pharyngeal tissue to high temperatures (up to 106ºF) to damage and kill cancer cells, or make them more susceptible to radiation and certain anticancer drugs. Local hyperthermia treatment (heat applied to a very small area, such as a tumor) is an established pharyngeal cancer treatment. The basic principle of this therapy is a one-hour temperature increase to 106ºF within a malignant tumor may be able to destroy cancer cells. Primary malignant pharyngeal tumors have a bad circulation of blood, which makes them more sensitive to changes in temperature.

Hyperthermia is almost always used to increase the effectiveness of other forms of pharyngeal cancer therapy, such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy and biotherapy/immunotherapy. The area to be treated may be heated externally with high-frequency waves. To achieve internal heating, one of several types of sterile probes may be used, including thin, heated wires or hollow tubes filled with warm water; implanted microwave antennae; and radiofrequency electrodes.

The Sonotherm 1000 (a tool used in our hospitals) applies ultrasound, or ultra-high frequency sound waves, to administer local hyperthermia to solid pharyngeal tumors. Ultrasound, besides being more easily focused than other energy modalities, can be applied to tumors located from skin-level to eight centimeters deep within the body. This allows tumors that many other external modalities can't reach to be treated. Another advantage is that ultrasound doesn't require the use of radio-wave shielding devices to protect medical personnel during treatment.

Hyperthermia does not typically cause marked increase in radiation side effects. Heat applied directly to the skin, however, can cause discomfort or even significant local pain in about half the people treated with hyperthermia. The procedure can also cause blisters, which generally heal rapidly (depending on the health of the patient’s skin). Less commonly, hyperthermia can cause burns.

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