An innovative cancer therapy undergoing clinical trials at The University of Texas-Houston may soon be part of a new approach to fighting the disease without invasive treatment and major side effects. The theory behind hyperthermia is that raising the body temperature either damages cancer cells or deprives them of substances needed to thrive, thus causing tumors to shrink in size.
Heat destroys the flow of blood to the tumor.
Some researchers advocate heating just one region of the body, but Dr. Bull is testing whole-body hyperthermia. The study is being conducted in patients with cancer of the colon, stomach, and pancreas. Although the number of study participants whose tumors completely disappeared remains small, Dr. Bull says she has still seen significant progress. Up to 50 percent of patients in the study who undergo both hyperthermia and chemotherapy have seen their tumors either shrink or stop growing. In pancreatic cancer, the partial response rate is as high as 70 percent.