Hyperthermia and Immune Response

Abstract

Combined modality of local hyperthermia and chemotherapy has been clinically applied based on in vitro enhancing antiproliferation of chemotherapeutic drugs to cancer cells by heating. The combined modality of whole body hyperthermia and chemotherapy may be capable of completely eliminnating cancer cells from the host, if there is drug highly specific to cancer, but such drug was not found yet. Therefore, complete cure of cancer mainly depends on anticancer immune system of the host. During whole body hyperthermia, the body has to be kept at the temperature to enhance the host immunity, especially the temperature for activation of neutrophils and monocytes. Recently, cytokine therapy as well as activation of monocytes, temperature-dependently enhances antiproliferation of cancer cells until elevating 39 °C. The combined modaltiy of hyperthermia and immunotherapy remains to find a difference in heating temperature from that of hyperthermia and chemotherapy.