ABSTRACT
The thermal treatment at elevated temperatures, called hyperthermia, of carcinomas is an alternative or supplement therapeutic modality to potentiate the effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Essentially, it is based on a difference between physiology, in particular the physical and chemical properties of tumourous and healthy tissues. While the vasculature of the tumourous tissues is chaotic and consequently contains hypoxic areas with low pH, they do not exist in the healthy tissues where the architecture of vasculature is undisturbed. Therefore, the tissues invaded by cancerous cells are predisposed more easily to deteriorate at ∼41°C-46°C in comparison to more resistant normally oxygenated healthy tissues.
