Clinical effects of total-body hyperthermia combined with anticancer chemotherapy for far-advanced gastrointestinal cancer.
The authors treated 17 patients with far-advanced gastrointestinal cancer with extracorporeally induced total-body hyperthermia (TBHT) combined with anticancer chemotherapy. Although all patients' tumors were clinically resistant to prior chemotherapy with 1-(2-tetrahydrofurlyl)-5-fluorouracil or 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin C, three patients had an objective response to TBHT plus the same anticancer agents with or without cyclophosphamide. That is, a partial response was obtained in 2 of 12 patients with recurrent gastric cancer and in 1 of 5 patients with recurrent large bowel cancer. However, their survival time was not markedly prolonged. As a characteristic complication of TBHT, the authors noted reversible weakness of the muscles of the lower extremities. Two patients died due to hepatorenal syndrome; preoperatively these patients had manifested hepatic or renal dysfunction. Therefore, in patients with hepatic or renal dysfunction, the application of TBHT must be considered carefully.
D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005112:Extracorporeal Circulation / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation; D007866:Leg; D007970:Leukopenia / Q000209:etiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000628:therapy; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000209:etiology