Further experience with regional radiofrequency hyperthermia and cytotoxic chemotherapy for unresectable hepatic neoplasia

Abstract

The authors report on 178 patients with unresectable hepatic tumors who have been treated with 1 to 25 (median, 6) courses of radiofrequency hyperthermia (RFHT) and chemotherapy. In 137 patients, the hepatic tumors consisted of metastases from colorectal adenocarcinomas. For patients who had no previous therapy and who had colorectal metastases with no extrahepatic disease, cumulative survival at 52 weeks' follow‐up was 80.5% and partial tumor regression was seen in 78.4%. Among the 69 patients who previously had conventional treatment for their hepatic disease, partial regression was seen in 43.5%. We are no longer monitoring tumor core temperature routinely, as the invasive methods currently in use yield irreproducible results; the risks to the patient cannot be justified in view of the questionable relevance of the data obtained. A prospective randomized study of systemic chemotherapy with or without RFHT in patients with colorectal hepatic metastases is in progress. Cancer 55:1291‐1295, 1985.

Non-Invasive Radiofrequency Field Treatment to Produce Hepatic Hyperthermia: Efficacy and Safety in Swine

“…Our inability to generate adequate liver hyperthermia is not unusual, as numerous other studies have documented difficulty in heating the liver with RF energy. A compilation of studies investigating the use of NiRFH on liver and liver tumors is shown in Table 1 [9]–[16], [29]–[31]. Most studies reported an inability to generate hyperthermia of greater than 40°C in 40% to 100% of patients in which thermometry was performed.…”

“…Repeated exposures of this duration and frequency aims to mimic treatment schedules that would be anticipated for human use of a clinically adopted KNiRFH device, based off of previous reports of similar NiRFH devices [9]–[16]. For each treatment, general anesthesia was induced with intramuscular injection of telazol (4.4 mg/kg) and xylazine (2.2 mg/kg).…”

“…However, NiRFH has not been systematically evaluated to treat malignancies of the liver. Difficulties in heating efficacy and issues with skin burns have been reported, demonstrating that challenges in applying NiRFH successfully and reproducibly to the liver are a valid concern [9]–[16].…”

Hyperthermia for cancer: A practical perspective

“…Three so-called nonperturbing thermometry probes have recently become available. These are the Bowman thermistor [255], the Luxtron fluorescence fiberoptic probe [138,139,190], and the Christensen gallium arsenide fiberoptic probe [256]. However, tumour heating during thermotherapy is very uneven [257]; the information obtained from a single probe in a large, deeply situated cancer is not particularly meaningful.…”

Ultrasonic guided percutaneous ethanol injection with or without combined radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinomas

“…In 1983, the FRA was first introduced for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. [8] And then, the procedure has steadily become first-line ablative management of small to intermediate sized (ct cm) HCC at many centers. [9] RFA has a primary effectiveness rate of 88-99% in the management of HCC.…”