The Science of Heat: How Cancer Hyperthermia Treatment Works

The concept of using heat is not new, dating back to the ancient civilizations. However, hyperthermia as a scientifically-based approach for the treatment of cancer has discovered a predicted way out in modern oncology, where it is practiced in a strictly limited form. This innovative Cancer Hyperthermia Treatment, which is often combined with traditional courses (such as chemotherapy and radiation), exploits the peculiarities of the cancerous cell's weaknesses when exposed to the thermal stress. But what occurs in terms of adding heat, and exactly how does it selectively attack the malignant cells?

How Heat Targets Cancer Cells Differently

One of the most interesting things about hyperthermia is that cancer cells usually have a greater sensitivity to the negative influence of heat than healthy cells. There are several physiological characteristics of tumors responsible for this selective sensitivity:

● Disorganized Blood Flow: Frequently, tumors create a chaotic and poor network of the bloodstream. Unlike the well-organized vasculature in healthy tissues, such a chaotic system finds it difficult to dissipate heat. This leads to unsafe temperatures within the tumor being higher and lasting longer than those of the normal tissue.

● Acidic Environment: The microenvironment in many tumors is acidic (lower pH) and lacks oxygen and nutrients compared to healthy tissue. Such conditions may also cause additional heat sensitization of cancer cells.

Key Mechanisms of Action at the Cellular Level

When the temperature of cancer cells is raised to a therapeutic range, typically between 40°C and 44°C (104°F - 111°F) – a principle applied in some forms of lung cancer treatment as well – several critical cellular processes are disrupted:

● Protein Damage (Denaturation): Proteins are biocatalysts or workhorses of cells since they are critical in structure and function. Heat can lead these vital proteins to unfold (denature), negatively affecting their ability to function appropriately and resulting in the loss of the cancer cell's capacity to carry out its functions.

● Cell Membrane Disruption: The outer membrane of a cell is highly important for its integrity. At high temperatures, the properties of cancer cell membranes could be changed, including becoming more permeable and weaker.

● Inhibition of DNA Repair: Cancer cells, like all cells, have mechanisms to repair DNA damage. Heat can interfere with these repair pathways. This is particularly significant because many conventional cancer treatments, such as radiation and certain types of chemotherapy, work by causing DNA damage. By hindering repair, hyperthermia can make these treatments more lethal to cancer cells.

● Induction of Apoptosis: High thermal stress can induce apoptosis, or programmed cell death, on cancer cells.

Verthermia's Advanced Approach to Cancer Hyperthermia Treatment

A pioneer of this industry, Verthermia presents a novel approach called HEATT® (Hyperthermic Extracorporeal Applied Tumor Therapy). This is a special whole-body treatment for Cancer Hyperthermia. The HEATT process involves thoroughly retrieving the patient's blood. That blood is to be accurately heated to an external environment using FDA-approved devices and protocols that have been tested through a clinical trial and returned into the body of the patient. This approach is planned to provide a regular and controlled therapeutic temperature in the body, which seeks to kill cancer cells systematically, which additionally involves dialysis to restore and stabilize the same body chemistry.

The story of cancer hyperthermia treatment is an inspiring illustration of how knowledge about the specific biology of cancer cells can result in novel therapeutic approaches. Through the manipulation of their talk to heat, clinicians will be provided another effective aid in combating cancer on all fronts.