Evaluating the effectiveness of combined radiotherapy and hyperthermia for the treatment response of patients with painful bony metastases: A phase 2 clinical trial

Systematic review about complementary medical hyperthermia in oncology

“…Period of time: ni n = 19. Sarcoma or malignant teratoma Improvement after first WBH treatment: n = 4 Ariyafar et al [ 87 ] EH (Celsius42 +) + RTx 60 min, 2 h after RTx (10 fractions over 2 weeks). Temp: ni.…”

“…Period of time: January 2000–June 2004 n = 37. Mixed cancer diagnosis Clear changes in responding patient Ariyafar et al [ 87 ] EH (Celsius42 +) + RTx, 60 min, 2 h after RTx (10 fractions over 2 weeks). Temp.…”

“…Overall, WBH was used in 33 studies (WBH in 24 studies [ 45 – 48 , 59 – 74 , 88 , 92 , 93 , 96 ], ECC-WBH (WBH with extracorporeal circulation) in 7 studies [ 75 – 78 , 89 , 91 , 97 ], in one study WBH and ECC-WBH each used for different groups [ 49 ] and in one study WBH (water-filtered infrared-A radiation) was administered together with therapeutic fevers [ 50 ]). EH was used in 20 studies [ 51 – 58 , 79 – 87 , 90 , 94 , 95 ]. Outcomes included tumour response, course of tumour markers, survival data, pain, quality of life or quality of recovery, body weight, ascites and fatigue.…”

“…In 23 patients, significant reduction in worst pain, least pain, average pain and current pain ( p < 0.001 for all) was reported after treatment and was maintained during the next three months. While at baseline 74% of the patients were still taking analgesics, three months after treatment the rate dropped to 48% [ 87 ]. The attention patients received due to the hyperthermia intervention must be considered with respect to subjective outcomes such as pain.…”

“…No significant differences in the QoL were seen from baseline to three months after EH with RTx in one study with 10 patients [ 83 ] and in another study [ 82 ] with initially 19 patients. Another study using EH with 23 participants [ 87 ] showed that except for nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhoea and financial problems, the patients’ quality of life improved significantly in all the functional scales within three months. Also these results may be explained in part by the attention received during the application of hyperthermia.…”