Tag Archive for: Hyperthermia

Oncothermia combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of recurrent cervical cancer

Oncothermia combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of recurrent cervical cancer

Researchers compared the effect of Oncothermia combined with conventional chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in patients with cervical cancer.

Cáncer cérvix Oncothermia

Dr. Lee’s team, from Department of Radiation Oncology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Chonbuk Medical University, South Korea, has recently published in the journal Oncology Letters the results on the complementary use of Oncothermia in recurrent Cervix Cancer previously treated with radiotherapy.

The present study was performed to evaluate the effect of Oncothermia combined with conventional chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone on recurrent cervical cancer previously treated with irradiation.

Method

A total of 20 patients, aged 36-71 years, with cervical cancer were treated with chemotherapy. Of these, 18 patients were treated with chemotherapy combined with Oncothermia. In addition, the equipment used was: EHY2000 (Oncotherm GmbH, Troisdorf, Germany). And the frequency was 13.56 MHz, with the circular electrode diameter of 30 cm.

In addition, local metastases (including para-aortic lymph nodes and adjacent pelvic lymph nodes) were considered in the inclusion criteria of the study. Also, patients with distant metastases were excluded.

For the study, Oncothermia was applied 3 times a week for 60 minutes from the start of chemotherapy. A total of 36 sessions were carried out.

Results

The overall response (complete remission + partial remission + stable disease/progressive disease) to treatment was significantly greater in the group of patients who underwent chemotherapy combined with Oncothermia (P=0.0461). Then, Oncothermia was shown to be more effective in the treatment of local metastases (lymph nodes). No complications with the use of Oncothermia were reported.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in patients with recurrent cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy, the overall response rate to treatment is significantly higher in patients who combined chemotherapy with Oncothermia compared to those who only received chemotherapy.

Reference

Lee SY, Lee NR, Cho DH, Kim JS. Treatment outcome analysis of chemotherapy combined with modulated electro-hyperthermia compared with chemotherapy alone for recurrent cervical cancer, following irradiation. Oncol Lett. 2017 Jul;14(1):73-78. doi: 10.3892/ol.2017.6117. Epub 2017 May 4. PMID: 28693137; PMCID: PMC5494813.

Chemotherapy and Oncothermia association

Chemotherapy and Oncothermia association

Lower and less toxic doses of chemotherapy by combining it with Oncothermia and complementary treatments.

Modelo EHY-2000 de Oncothermia

Professor Dr. med. Alexander Herzog, Chief-physician, Fachklinik Dr. Herzog, Germany has published a recent clinical study in the Oncothermia journal. He also presented it at the 35th ICHS, Guangzhou, China, 2017. The study explains the results in the use of lower and less toxic doses of chemotherapy when combined with hyperthermia and complementary treatments.

Electro-hyperthermia (Oncothermia) is an important tool for improving the efficacy of chemotherapy and radiation in cancer.

Numerous studies have been published on Oncothermia treatment in cell cultures, in animal experiments, but also in patients. Furthermore, these studies include randomised studies, phase 2 studies, but also many successful case reports that provide evidence for the benefit of Oncothermia.

Methods:

Oncothermy means heating the cancerous tissue up to 42°C (107.6°F). In several experiments, it has been shown that chemotherapy works more efficiently if the temperature of the cancer tissue is increased. There can be a linear or even exponential increase in the activity of cytostatic drugs.

The Oncotherm device with 13.56 MHz and energies up to 150 watts was used. The local treatment takes 1 hour for each session. In addition, such treatment can be repeated frequently (the interval between 2 treatments should be at least 48 hours to avoid thermal tolerance).

Chemotherapy is administered simultaneously with a local Oncothermia session.

Results for a selection of different cancers:

♦ ENT-Cancers:

The standard chemotherapy in these cases would be a rather toxic 5-day programme of cisplatin together with 5-FU as a continuous infusion. Together with oncothermia, a 4-day programme would be sufficient.

♦ Non-small cell lung cancer:

The dosing regimen would follow platinum-based chemotherapy, but the doses of Carboplatin and Gemcitabine or Vinorelbine could be reduced by approximately 20%, if applied together with Oncothermia.

♦ Colorectal cancer:

Chemotherapy protocols in colorectal cancer are mainly the FOLFOX protocol and the Folfiri protocol, which can be combined with Bevacizumab or Cetuximab antibodies. Together with Oncothermia, the dose of Oxaliplatin would be kept at the standard level. Irinotecan could be reduced. 5-FU administered as a chronomodulated treatment at night with 50% of the dose between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. could also be significantly reduced. In addition, Capecitabine can be used together with Oncothermia at a reduced dose.

♦ Ovarian and cervical cancers:

In ovarian and cervical cancer, the standard chemotherapy is Carboplatin and the neurotoxic drug Paclitaxel. Together with Oncothermia, Carboplatin could be combined with a less toxic dose of Cyclophosphamide, which is a drug with potentiation of its activity under hyperthermic conditions.

♦ Breast cancer:

In one study, it has been shown that 70-80% of breast cancer patients respond to a treatment programme with local oncothermia together with moderate doses of chemotherapy.

Reduces toxicity

In conjunction with oncothermia, it is possible to use chemotherapy in more moderate doses. This reduces toxicity. Above all, it helps patients in particular in the palliative situation to preserve quality of life. It also allows for more regular treatments and for a longer period of time which is possibly very important to improve survival times.

Sources:

Herzog A. (2018): Lower and less toxic doses of chemotherapy by combining it with hyperthermia and complementary treatments; Oncothermia Journal 22:46-56

Effects of the addition of electro-hyperthermia (Oncothermia) to chemoradiotherapy in cancer of the cervix. Randomized clinical trial – Phase III.

Dr. Minara CA of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa has published in the journal Oncothermia journal 21:56 57, 2017 an update on the phase III randomized clinical trial investigating the effects of the addition of electrons hyperthermia to chemoradiotherapy for patients with cancer of the cervix in South Africa.

The electrohyperthermia (EHT) trial is an ongoing phase III randomized clinical trial that is conducted at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. The overall objective is to determine the clinical effects of the addition of modulated electrohyperthermia (EHT) to standard treatment protocols for locally advanced cervical cancer patients in state health care in South Africa. The objectives are to evaluate the effects of the addition of EHT on local control of the disease, quality of life, acute and late toxicity and overall survival.

Methods:

The purpose of the study is to treat 236 women with a FIGO IIB to IIIB stage of cervical cancer. Participants are randomly assigned to a group of “Hyperthermia” (EHT plus chemoradiation) and a group of “Control” (chemoradiation alone), strata of randomization: HIV status; years; stage of the disease. All participants receive external radiation of 50 Gy, 3 doses of brachytherapy with a high dose rate of 8 Gy and cisplatin. The “Oncothermia” group receives two local EHT treatments of 55 minutes per week during radiation therapy. Local control of the disease is evaluated by positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Adverse events, quality of life and overall survival are recorded and the data analyzed.

Results:

The first 100 participants are evaluated until they reach 6 months after treatment.

There has been a positive trend in the survival and local control of the disease in the group receiving OT.

There are no significant differences in acute adverse events or quality of life between the two groups.

The preliminary results of the addition of EHT are positive without impact on adverse events, however, this should be confirmed with more patients at the end of the study.