Description

WHAT IS HYPERTHERMIA? THE POWER OF HEAT!

Thermotherapy has been used by physicians for
centuries to cure diseases. The first response of our body to fight infections
is to increase the body temperature. High body temperature alerts the body and
makes our immune system function more efficiently.

‘Give me the power to produce fever and I’ll cure all
disease’ said philosopher and physician Parmenides. Dr. Bradley Coley, chief
doctor at New York Cancer Hospital (current name: Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center), observed that whenever cancer patients caught a febrile
disease, their cancer would regress. Based on this observation, Dr. Coley
reasoned that he may cure cancer by injecting into the tumor tissue those
bacteria that caused fever. Indeed, Dr. Coley achieved significant success by
curing several patients in the 1800s, thereby laying the grounds for
hyperthermia.

Assoc. Prof. Mutlu Demiray, M.D., is member to the
German Hyperthermia Society. Medicana hospital is certified by the German
Hyperthermia Society.

Hence, Medicana has been applying the treatment
protocols stipulated by the German Hyperthermia Society. Moreover, Medicana has
entered into a scientific collaboration agreement with the Hyperthermia and
Nutrition Clinic of Ruhr University in Bochum/Germany.

WHY MAY CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY FALL SHORT IN
CANCER TREATMENT?

Structural differences in tumor cells are a major
reason of failed cancer treatments. For instance, chemotherapeutic drugs cannot
sufficiently penetrate into cancer cells due to the different structure of
their cell walls.

Chemotherapeutical drugs may fail to reach the
cancerous tissue sufficiently due to the chaotic vascular structure of cancer
cells. On the other hand, radiotherapy – another method of treating cancer-
effects cancer cells only if oxygen is present in the environment. However,
cancerous cells are 3-times more resistant to radiotherapy compared to normal
cells, since cancerous cells exist in anaerobic environment.

In addition, efficiency of the immune system is
impaired due to abnormal electrical activity of cancer cells and their
existence in acidic environment. Chemotherapeutical drugs penetrating the
cancer cell are ejected from cancer cells by means of pumps located in their
cell walls. Thus, the damage caused to cancer cells by chemotherapy and
radiotherapy is quickly repaired by cancer cells.

WHICH BENEFITS DOES HYPERTHERMIA PROVIDE FOR CANCER
TREATMENT?

Chemotherapeutic drugs administered to treat cancer
fail to sufficiently reach the cancerous tissue, and even if they reach the
cancerous tissue, they fail to penetrate the cell, and even if they penetrate,
they are pumped back out, and even if they remain inside the cell, the damage
caused by them can be repaired by the cancerous tissue. On the other hand,
radiotherapy destructs cancerous tissues by creating free oxygen radicals in
the presence of oxygen. Yet, cancer cells usually exist in anaerobic environment,
and are capable to repair the damage caused by radiotherapy. The method to
improve the efficiency of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as the two major means
of curing cancer, is hyperthermia.

HOW DOES HYPERTHERMIA IMPROVE EFFICIENCY OF
CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY?

Hyperthermia dilates the blood vessels; whereby
chemotherapeutical drugs can access the cancerous tissue better.

Hyperthermia increases the oxygenation of cancerous
tissues, thus increasing the efficiency of radiotherapy.

Hyperthermia destructs the cell wall structure of
cancerous cells; whereby chemotherapeutical drugs can penetrate the cancerous
cells better.

• Hyperthermia deactivates the pumps found in cells
walls of cancerous cells, thus helps chemotherapeutical drugs stay inside the
cell.

• Hyperthermia interrupts the protein synthesis in
cancer cells, thus impeding the cancer cells’ ability to repair the effects of
radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Hyperthermia causes alterations in cancer cells, thus
helping the immune system be more effective against cancer cells.

Hyperthermia may prevent development of resistance
against chemotherapeutical drugs and reverse any resistance that has already
developed.

Hyperthermia may kill tumor cells directly. It is long
known that the success of cancer treatment will increase significantly by
heating only cancer cells, without causing damage to normal cells.

HOW IS LOCAL/REGIONAL HYPERTHERMIA APPLIED?

In parallel with technologic studies, considerable
improvements have been achieved in Hyperthermia techniques. Recent technology
is capable to create hyperthermia in cancerous tissues only.

The addition of hyperthermia to chemotherapy and
radiotherapy has paved the road for significant successes in the treatment of
cancer. The successful outcomes have caused several universities in Europe, the
U.S., and Japan to initiate intensive studies on thermotherapy and introduce
chairs on this topic.

IS HYPERTHERMIA A SCIENTIFIC METHOD?

Hyperthermia has been chosen as academic research area
and approved treatment method at several universities including without
limitation University of Texas, Harvard Medical School, University of
Minnesota, University Hospital of Verona, University of Witten-Herdecke /
Bochum, Kansai Medical University Osaka, Duke University Medical Center,
Amsterdam Medical Center, and Erasmus MC to name just a few. Hyperthermia has
been acknowledged as the 4^th arm of cancer treatment by Europe’s leading anti-cancer society.

HOW CAN HYPERTHERMIA BE MADE MORE EFFICIENT BY
CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY?

Hyperthermia alone is not advised. If combined with
chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, the efficiency of all treatments will
increase.

Hyperthermia increases the efficiency of radiotherapy
by up to 500%.

Since chemotherapeutical drugs have different mechanisms
of action, the efficiency of chemotherapy is increased by 2- to 10-fold.

Hyperthermia has no side effects.

Hyperthermia does not aggravate side effects of
chemotherapy or radiotherapy, because hyperthermia increases the efficiency of
chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy only in cancerous tissue.

In cases where chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy are
not an option, hyperthermia can be considered on grounds that it has no side
effects and is effective on tumor tissue only.