Background: Adding hyperthermia to radiation or chemotherapy has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with
various malignancies.

Objective: To evaluate response rates and toxicities of deep regional hyperthermia combined with radiation or chemotherapy in cancer patients.

Materials and Methods: Medical records of 30 cancer patients treated with deep regional hyperthermia combined with radiation therapy or chemotherapy from April 2014 to April 2017 were
retrospectively reviewed. Treatment outcomes were reported in terms of response rates and toxicities.

Results: The median follow-up time was 15 months (range 4 to 38 months); 53% of patients received hyperthermia combined with radiation therapy, and 37% received hyperthermia combined with
chemotherapy. The most commonly treated sites were within the pelvic cavity (46.7%) and abdomen (40%). Of the 30 patients, 16.7% achieved complete response, 36.7% achieved partial response, 13.3% had stable disease, and 33.3% had progressive disease. Among patients in the curative intent group, 50% achieved complete response and 50% achieved partial response. In the palliative intent group, 30% achieved partial response, 20% had stable disease, and 50% had progressive disease. The most common toxicity was skin reaction grade 1.

Conclusion: Adding hyperthermia to radiation or chemotherapy is feasible, with minimal adverse effects. Treatment outcomes were comparable with previous published data.

Keywords: Deep regional hyperthermia; Thermotron-RF8; Radiation therapy; Chemotherapy; Response; Toxicity