Selecting Patients for Hyperthermia Treatment Based on Patient Backgrounds

Use of hyperthermia as cancer treatment has often been impossible to continue at once following exacerbation of general condition due to cancer growth. However, no formal consensus has yet been defined regarding the acceptability of hyperthermia, so selection of patients for hyperthermia is not based on agreed clinical criteria. Aiming at the establishment of agreed clinical criteria concerning the selection of patients for hyperthermia, this report examined the treatment acceptability of hyperthermia based on patient backgrounds before advanced cancer treatment. Subjects comprised 45 patients with various advanced cancers treated with regional hyperthermia combined with chemo- or immunotherapy who visited our clinic between July 2008 and May 2009. Group A (n=24) underwent hyperthermia ≥ 8 times, while Group B (n=21) underwent hyperthermia ≤ 7 times (mean, 4.19 times). We investigated pretreatment laboratory data, body mass index, performance status (PS), Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), and quality of life (QOL). Patients with poor scores for both PS and GPS dropped out early. In these patients, elevations in both lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels tended to be present in addition to hypoalbuminemia. QOL in Group B was already impaired before initiation of hyperthermia. PS and GPS appear to represent the most important factors when judging the acceptability of hyperthermia, while LDH, CRP, and albumin levels may help such judgments. The acceptability of hyperthermia can be predicted using patient background as evidenced by laboratory data and general conditions, including QOL, before cancer treatment. The results justified further examination in a large number of patients to aim the establishment of agreed clinical criteria concerning the selection of patients for hyperthermia.