How Can Hyperthermia And Radiation Therapy Be Combined To Treat Prostate Cancer?

Jan. 01, 2009 -- Question: How can hyperthermia and radiation therapy be combined to treat prostate cancer?

Answer: By increasing the temperature of the prostate through a couple of different ways helps radiation therapy, because the chemical reaction that kills the prostate cancer happens faster and more frequently when the temperature of the prostate is elevated. There are several ways to induce hyperthermia and, most of the time, it's done with microwave hyperthermia therapy transrectally. But there are now interesting developments with high-frequency ultrasound that are being studied that can be soon entered into clinical trials and clinical practice.