Hyperthermia in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Hyperthermia-the sustained heating of tissues to temperatures of 42 degrees C to 43.5 degrees C--increasingly is being studied by scientists as a new tool to destroy cancer cells, either alone or in conjunction with other well established forms of treatment, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Many studies on tissue cultures, on animals and also on humans, have established the fact that this new nonconventional adjuvant form of treatment is actually effective. Progress is being made in the development of the necessary technology for delivering the desired and controlled form of heat to the diseased site, while protecting the surrounding healthy tissues from irreversible damage. Initial clinical trials in this direction are very promising and seem to offer new avenues in the methods of treatment for cancer of the prostate.