Breast Cancer
HYPERTHERMIA HELPS INCREASE TREATMENT RESPONSE RATE FOR BREAST CANCER BY 24% (2).
Treatment for breast cancer typically includes surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and may also include hyperthermia. We offer all aspects of care for the breast cancer patient here at the Thermal Center for Oncology (post surgery), and will tailor your treatment plan to your individual needs and state of disease.
Scientists have found that hyperthermia has a very high success rate in breast cancer. Hyperthermia is a heat treatment that is delivered directly to the tumor area usually via ultrasound or microwave energy. We target only the cancerous breast tissue, or the margins of the tumor post-lumpectomy or mastectomy. During the treatment, we gently raise the temperature carefully to approximately 106º--110º Fahrenheit (or 41º- 43º Celsius). Hyperthermia therapy damages proteins and structures within cells, thereby shrinking breast tumors, and also helps radiation and/or chemotherapy to be more effective. The heat increases blood and oxygen circulation to the tumor, making radiation more effective by increasing the oxygen to the tissue, or chemotherapy by bringing more medication directly into the tumor.
In a clinical study conducted in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada involving 306 patients with superficial localized breast cancer, patients who received both hyperthermia and radiation therapy had a complete response rate of 59% compared to 41% for those who received radiation treatments alone. Local relapse-free survival was 50% for those who received both therapies and 30% for those who received radiation alone (1). In addition, a clinical study conducted at Duke University involving patients with previously irradiated superficial tumors, 23.5% had a complete response when treated with radiation alone compared to a response rate of 68.2% for patients treated with hyperthermia plus radiation (2).
Hyperthermia is also very effective in treating recurrent chest wall nodules from breast cancer after undergoing a mastectomy by combining hyperthermia with radiation therapy (3).
To schedule an appointment, please call the Center for Thermal Oncology at (888) 580-5900 or schedule an appointment online.