Protective Hypothermia for Cancer Chemotherapy

Abstract

Experience is reported of the use of immersion hypothermia on twenty-one occasions in seventeen patients in whom ethoglucid was injected by the intra-arterial route for the treatment of advanced cancer of the head and neck. The main hazards were found to be arterial hypotension occurring during the procedure and postoperative regional oedema leading to respiratory obstruction for which tracheostomy was required on eight occasions. The fall in white blood cell count was appreciably less than that reported after injection of comparable doses at normal temperature. The relief of pain after perfusion was marked.

Reduced Production of JAK2V617F-positive Microparticles at Mild Hypothermia

“…In a study by Fay Temple in 1940, hypothermia therapy resulted in a remarkable recovery from breast carcinoma (30). Since then, various studies concluded that hypothermia suppressed cancer cell proliferation, adhesion, and metastasis to neighboring cells (31)(32)(33)(34). In addition, blood regulation is greatly influenced by hypothermia.…”

Chlorpromazine-Induced Hypothermia in Tumour-Bearing Mice, Acute Cytotoxic Drug Lethality and Long-Term Survival

“…Body temperature influences the sensitivity of tissues and organisms to ionising radiation (1 -4) and presumably to chemotherapy as well (5)(6)(7). Hyperthermia is in clinical use (8) but for whole-body hyperthermia the relation between tolerability and temperature increase and duration is steep, limiting its usefulness in disseminated malignancy.…”

“…9, 10). Few studies have been published on the relative cytotoxic effect of chemicals or irradiation on neoplastic and normal tissues at temperatures below that of the normal body (5,11,12). It was therefore decided to test various clinically used cytotoxic drugs at normal and subnormal temperatures, being feasible also for humans (cf.…”