The term hyperthermia literally means "increased temperature". Experts generally use it to refer to the uncontrolled rise in temperature in the body due to an imbalance between heat production and heat loss. This can be the case with sunstroke, for example. Or be a side effect of a drug intolerance. The consumption of drugs can also trigger hyperthermia.
In medicine, hyperthermia also includeslocal and regional deep hyperthermia as well as whole-body hyperthermia.
This means that doctors artificially increase the body's temperature and bring the body to a desired feverish state. As fever is a natural reaction of the body to ward off illness, doctors use artificial fever for therapeutic purposes.
Hyperthermia is a treatment method that heats areas of the body up to 43°C for around an hour @ corinne matusiak /AdobeStock
Therapeutic hyperthermia is used to support the treatment of cancer. It is an adjuvant method to radiation treatment and chemotherapy.
The artificial fever strengthens the immune system and activates the body's self-healing powers. The increased sweating leads to the flushing out of toxins from the body. The artificial fever also stimulates blood circulation.
From a temperature of 41.5° C, the thermological processes in the body inhibit growth and sometimes even destroy tumor tissue. It has been scientifically proven that the generation of heat in the organism has a harmful effect on tumors.
The advantage for cancer patients is that lower doses of cytostatics (cancer drugs) can be administered, resulting in fewer side effects. During hyperthermia, so-called heat shock proteins (HSP) are produced, which have an alarming effect on the body's own killer cells.
These recognize the malignant tumour cells and attack them. The heat also has a dilating effect on the blood vessels. As a result, tumor areas with poor circulation are better supplied with blood. As a result, the chemotherapy drugs reach the tumor cells better and faster and attack them more aggressively.
There are different variations of hyperthermia treatment. Depending on the method, doctors raise the body temperature of the cancer patient to between 40 and 45 degrees.
Electromagnetic waves (such as radio waves or microwaves) or ultrasound waves are used. Sometimes the patient is also administered heated liquids to "flush out" certain areas of the body with chemotherapy solutions.
The following methods of hyperthermia exist:
This hyperthermia technique is used when the tumor is no more than four to five centimeters under the skin. Doctors carry out local hyperthermia when the cancer is located directly under the surface of the body. Or, in the case of skin metastases, directly on the skin.
Micro, radio or ultrasound waves are used in the treatment. The best therapeutic results are achieved when doctors combine local hyperthermia with chemotherapy.
Experts carry out local or superficial hyperthermia in the clinic on an outpatient basis. It usually takes about an hour.
In regional hyperthermia, doctors not only treat the part of the body affected by the tumor, but also larger areas of the body. This technique aims to reach deeper tumors and metastases. In the case of pancreatic cancer, for example, the upper abdomen is in the hyperthermia field; in the case of bowel cancer, the lower abdomen and the pelvic area.
In deep hyperthermia, doctors work with electromagnetic waves generated using a ring applicator. The cancer patient lies in a ring-shaped device that irradiates the corresponding area of the body.
In order to better conduct the electromagnetic waves, the patient is also placed on a kind of water bed. Through targeted control, doctors generate controlled heating that prevents the surrounding healthy tissue from being damaged.
Interstitial hyperthermia is also a regional hyperthermia method. This special technique is used for very small tumors (with a diameter of no more than two centimeters). Examples include carcinomas of the prostate or brain tumors.
Doctors insert an applicator into the tumor, where it provides the desired overheating. This is usually possible via body orifices. If not, the cancer patient is given a local anesthetic or light anesthesia.
In whole-body hyperthermia, experts heat the whole body up to 42 degrees. Whole-body hyperthermia is mainly used for cancerous diseases in which various organs are affected.
Examples include metastases in the bones, liver or lungs. Doctors also use this method when chemotherapy alone has been unsuccessful. Once the maximum temperature has been reached during hyperthermia, chemotherapy is used.
As a rule, hyperthermia treatment has few side effects. The biggest problem with hyperthermia treatment is the risk of damage to healthy tissue.
This can lead to redness or partial swelling. Tissue burns hardly ever occur with good control, but cannot be ruled out. Occasionally there is slight pain in the affected areas, which usually passes quickly.
As hyperthermia puts a strain on the cardiovascular system, it can lead to complications in immunocompromised or pre-stressed patients. This is why doctors rarely use whole-body hyperthermia.
Hyperthermia is not yet a standard treatment for cancer in Germany, although it has been included in the medical fee schedule since 1996. Germany is therefore lagging behind the international standard. Internationally, hyperthermia has already achieved demonstrably significant successes. Treatment rates are rising steadily.
However, there are still unanswered questions that stand in the way of hyperthermia treatment:
In any case, patients should only undergo hyperthermia treatment as part of clinical studies or under scientifically controlled conditions. Some larger clinics in Germany offer the treatment. Cancer patients should refrain from alternative treatment concepts.
The therapy may be carried out by a physicist or engineer. An MTA may also carry out hyperthermia under the supervision of a physicist or engineer.
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