Thermal Medicine(Japanese Journal of Hyperthermic Oncology)
Online ISSN : 1881-9516
Print ISSN : 0911-2529
ISSN-L : 0911-2529
Volume 17, Issue 1
Displaying 1-4 of 4 articles from this issue
  • SHIN-ICHIRO MASUNAGA, KOJI ONO, HITOSHI HORI
    2001 Volume 17 Issue 1 Pages 13-22
    Published: March 01, 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: October 21, 2009
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Studies have shown that reduced oxygen tension (hypoxia) in solid tumors adversely affects the outcome of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Besides being an independent prognostic marker of poor treatment outcome, hypoxia represents a physiological difference that can be utilized for selective cancer treatment. Since severe hypoxia does not occur in normal tissue, it may be exploited for therapeutic gain. One strategy is to use drugs that are toxic only under hypoxic conditions, and the first drug of this class to enter clinical testing, tirapazamine, is showing considerable promise. The second way to exploit hypoxia is to take advantage of the selective induction of the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) under hypoxic conditions. Gene therapy strategies based on this concept are in development.
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  • HIDEYUKI SAKURAI, KAZUSHIGE HAYAKAWA, YOSHIO TAMAKI, YUKO NAKAYAMA, HI ...
    2001 Volume 17 Issue 1 Pages 23-31
    Published: March 01, 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: October 21, 2009
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Recent randomized clinical trials on hyperthermia have shown promising results for not only superficial tumors but also deep-seated tumors. Local irradiation has been a traditional approach in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Local tumor control is an important goal of the primary treatment for NSCLC, but patients with unresectable NSCLC show an extremely poor prognosis. From recent clinical trials for NSCLC, chemoradiation provided more benefit in non-squamous cell carcinoma, while aggressive local treatment would be most beneficial in squamous cell carcinoma. Considering an application of hyperthermia, bulky squamous cell type NSCLC is a clinical challenge for hyperthermia combined with standard irradiation as a local aggressive treatment. Although clinical trial in western countries has not been reported, few Japanese researchers have investigated clinical benefit for combination of hyperthermia and irradiation in patients with NSCLC. In our study for unresectable NSCLC with chest wall invasion, hyperthermia combined with standard irradiation potentially improved the local control and might provide more long-term survivors without increasing adverse effect. Randomized clinical trial should be conducted mainly by Japanese Society of Hyperthermic Oncology.
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  • TAKEO HASEGAWA, YEUN-HWA GU, HIROAKI USHIBA, KENSAKU HARA, SATORU ANDO ...
    2001 Volume 17 Issue 1 Pages 33-43
    Published: March 01, 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: October 21, 2009
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In hyperthermic treatment of malignant tumors, thermal tissue injury increases dramatically with every degree that the tissue increases above 42.5 °C. Accurate temperature monitoring during hyperthermia is important. Generally, tissue temperature is monitored by inserting sensors into the target tissue ; however, the painful procedure is not tolerated by some patients. We devised a noninvasive method to monitor tissue temperature during radio-frequency hyperthermia. The method functions by detecting the magnetic field induced by the radio-frequency currents that flow through the heated tissue. This technique uses small multi-channel coil antennas to detect radio-frequency currents and generates a two-dimensional image of their distribution in the tissue. The temperature distribution was estimated from the temperature increase and the intensity of the current of the radio frequency. A 4 % agar phantom was used as a model for target tissue receiving hyperthermic treatment. Around the agar phantom, 16 small coils were arranged in a ring. A rectifying circuit and a leveling circuit were connected to each coil antenna, and the current was converted with a fixed resistance into voltage. Since the voltage output from each antenna was attenuated at 1/2πr (r : distance from the radio-frequency current), single-peaked projection data were prepared. After treatment with various signals, radio-frequency currents that flowed through the heated object were determined as a two-dimensional current distribution profile by back-projection. When the insertion of an iron rod into the agar phantom produced a hot spot, the current distribution was examined and compared with the two-dimensional temperature distribution evaluated by thermography. A good correlation was observed between the distribution of radio-frequency currents detected by the coil antennas and the temperature distribution detected by thermography. The linear relationship observed in this study between the two-dimensional distribution of radio-frequency currents and the thermographic temperature distribution suggests the possibility of non-invasive evaluation of temperature distribution in the hypothermic target and the clinical usefulness of this method for temperature monitoring during hyperthermia.
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  • KATSUYUKI KARASAWA, TOSHIHIDE KAIZU, YUZURU NIIBE, HITOSHI ISHIKAWA, T ...
    2001 Volume 17 Issue 1 Pages 45-52
    Published: March 01, 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: October 21, 2009
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is considered to carry dismal prognosis and reported surgical results indicate a median survival time of less than one year for patients with Butchart's stage II or higher. Instead of surgery we performed thermoradiotherapy combined with chemotherapy into the pleural cavity for the treatment of this disease. We encountered 2 stage II cases that achieved a good response and long-term survival. In both cases, hyperthermia was performed to the ipsilateral pleural cavity using 8MHz RF-capacitive heating apparatus for 45-60 minutes per session once a week under the perfusion of CBDCA (450mg/body) for the first case, and CDDP (50mg/body) for the second case. Radiotherapy of 2Gy/fr, 1fr/week was performed to the ipsilateral hemithorax soon before thermochemotherapy. We administered 2 sessions of this treatment for the first case, and 4 sessions for the second case. In both cases, tumor and/or chestwall temperature reached higher than 42 degrees. In both cases, the initial response was PR (Partial response). In the first case intractable pleural effusion disappeared completely and controlled for more than 3 years, though transient hematological grade 4 toxicity was observed. The second case died of local recurrence 27 months following the initial treatment but the first case was surviving with disease at the final follow-up more than 5 years after the initial treatment. This combined modality might be promising without causing any compromise in respiratory function and was able to maintain the quality of life and prolong the life of the patient. Further studies are necessary to optimize the treatment protocol.
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