ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to relate a clinical perspective to the biological and technical aspects of hyperthermia. Since the intent of this volume is to provide an extensive description of the biology of hyperthermia, my comments in this section are meant to be brief and to highlight certain aspects which appear to be relevant clinically. Hyperthermia has been shown also to be a radiation sensitizer with the maximum effect expressed when the two agents are administered simultaneously. The interaction decays with time and becomes unmeasurable after separation of a few hours between exposures in vitro. The technical approaches and problems encountered vary immensely depending upon the tumor site to be heated. For instance, the problems encountered in heating superficial tumors in the skin or subcutaneous tissues are much different and much more simple than those encountered in hyperthermia of deep-seated abdominal or pelvic neoplasms.
