ABSTRACT
Interest in the use of hyperthermia in the treatment of malignant disease is first recorded in the German literature of the middle to late 19th century. Several techniques of delivering hyperthermia have come into widespread clinical use. These are basically subdivided into two main categories. The first is externally applied hyperthermia and the second is interstitially applied hyperthermia. H. I. Bicher et al. studied the effect of hyperthermia on tissue oxygen tension, tissue pH, and indirectly local blood flow as a function of hyperthermic treatment. Clinical use of radiotherapy and hyperthermia in the treatment of patients has been reported sporadically. M. W. Dewhirst et al. discussed the effect of radiotherapy and hyperthermia on the hypoxic cell. Recommendation for future studies should follow certain guidelines. As a result of the low toxicity associated with this combination of modalities, addition of hyperthermia to definitive radiotherapy, where radiotherapy is the treatment of choice, should be considered.
