Hyperthermia as a key therapy in cancer?

Hyperthermia is considered the key therapy for cancer in Japan

08/29/2014

„In Germany, hyperthermia is regarded as the fourth pillar of cancer therapy in addition to surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Japanese doctors go further. For them, heat therapy is a key therapy, a key modality of cancer therapy“, says Prof. dr. András Szász, founder of oncothermia, a special form of heat therapy. Szász refers to two congresses in Japan on the 5th and 6th of September 2014: The 6th Asian Congress of Hyperthermic Oncology and the 31st Japanese Congress of Thermal Medicine „Thermal Medicine: The key modality of cancer therapy“. Szász speaks at a symposium next to dr. Yasunori Akutsu, Chiba University, Japan, dr. Somchai Thanasitthichai, Thailand, and dr. Joonhee Kim, Tokyo, on oncothermia.

In Japan and in Asia as a whole, the value of hyperthermia is higher than in Germany. This is proven by over 400 hyperthermia centers in Japan and more than 500 in China. Japanese medical research also focuses on hyperthermia. Thus, a study from May 2012 on one of the key effects of hyperthermia is: By applying heat therapy with other drugs, the temperature rose within malignant cells. As a result, the number of free oxygen radicals increases. The cancer cell is apparently stimulated to generate free radicals itself, so that it is disturbed in their function and is ideally exposed to self-destruction: ("Effect of ascorbic acid on reactive oxygen species production in chemotherapy and hyperthermia in prostate cancer cells"). This study is u.a. to the dual objective of hyperthermia. On the one hand, it heats tumor cells to attack them directly. On the other hand, in the context of complementary medicine, tumor cells become more sensitive to conventional treatment with radiation and medication.

The Saarland Cancer League also ices up on studies on bronchial cancer, “numerous individual observations“ speak for it, „Because of its poor blood supply, lung cancer is usually unlikely to respond to chemotherapy. Better chances are often with a combination of hyperthermia and chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Also interesting is the experience in Japan and Taiwan of the sole effectiveness of deep hyperthermia. a. on tumors that show no tendency to metastasis.“

In this combination therapy concept, oncothermia fits in as locally effective heat therapy. It couples heat and electrical energy. The electric field supports the precise focusing of the heat in the region to be treated. Here, the tumor tissue is specifically targeted - without side effects. Oncothermia allows the treatment of many tumor sites, especially cervical cancer, breast cancer, black skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, anal cancer. (Pm)