Post by Heckel Hyperthermia

On 23 and 24 of January more than 30 radiation oncologists, medical physicists – including 5 members of the ESTRO Hyperthermia Focus Group – as well as international distributors participated in a successful heckel user meeting of thermography-controlled water-filtered infrared A (wIRA) superficial hyperthermia (HT) using hydrosun®TWH1500. The event took place at the DKFZ and the Dept. of Radiation Oncology of University Hospital Heidelberg, which has been using the system for more than half a year. The participants exchanged their experiences of combined superficial HT immediately followed by low-dose (re-)irradiation, presented and discussed case reports, quality assurance, running and planned clinical studies, and reimbursement. The features of water-filtered infrared (wIRA) and microwave (MW) superficial hyperthermia were compared, concluding that these methods are not competitive but complement each other – in example, MW HT for bulky tumors and nodular lesions up to 3-4 cm depth, wIRA hyperthermia for large-sized diffuse and ulcerating lesions up to 1-2 cm depth. We need specific hyperthermia techniques for the benefit of the patients! It was an inspiring meeting, thank you to all participants! #hydrosunTWH1500 #wIRA #SuperficialHyperthermia #Irradiation #Cancer #BreastCancer