The Hyperthermia European Adjuvant Trial (HEAT) was a study that involved 117 patients with pancreatic cancer. It was an open-label, multicenter trial with two groups: a control group and an adjuvant therapy group. The control group received only gemcitabine, a standard chemotherapy drug, while the adjuvant therapy group received gemcitabine along with cisplatin and hyperthermia, using the BSD-2000 3D Deep Regional Hyperthermia System.
Although the disease-free survival was slightly better in the group receiving hyperthermia (12.7 months) compared to the control group (11.2 months), the 5-year overall survival was much better in the hyperthermia group (28.4%) compared to the control group (18.7%). This is a significant increase compared to the 5-year overall survival rate for PDAC of ~20%.
Note: In the middle of the study, the standard of care was changed from gemcitabine to folfirinox, which prevented the population of the study from reaching the original target.
The study, "Regional hyperthermia with cisplatin added to gemcitabine versus gemcitabine in patients with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: The HEAT randomised clinical trial" by Dr. Rolf Isles et al, was published in the European Journal of Cancer. [Eur J Cancer. 2022;181:155-165. doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2022.12.009]. A link to the abstract can be found here.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to announce the opening of the Tumor Hyperthermia Center and the installation of a Pyrexar BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia System. The recent addition of a Mevion radiotherapy system makes this the first dual therapy, deep regional hyperthermia/proton center in Asia.
The BSD-2000 Hyperthermia System is used to treat cancer tumors and aid radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments by raising the tumor micro-environment to 43˚C. This increase in temperature improves blood flow and perfusions, promotes immune modulation, prevents cancer cells from DNA repair and leads to cancer cell death.
The facility, located in the Guangdong Province, is a joint-venture between Jinshazhou Hospital and Australia's ICON Group. The University of Wollongong in New South Wales also collaborates with the center to provide medical physics research, training, and education.
A special thank you to the team at Orientech for their hard work and dedication in placing this system in the hospital.
After taking a two year break due to COVID restrictions, the CME accredited educational program offered by the University of Maryland, School of Thermal Oncology is now open for registration.
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University of Maryland Thermal Oncology School CME course
held at the Maryland Proton Center in Baltimore, MD
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The educational team included (left to right) JW Snider, MD; Paul Stauffer;
Dario Rodrigues, PhD; Jason Molitoris, MD, PhD; Mariana Guerrero,PhD; John Hayes,MD;
and Zeljko Vujaskovic, MD, Phd
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Participants from the U.S., Poland, South Korea and key hospitals in the
U.S. attended the 2-day lecture and workshop
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Professor Stauffer, from Thomas Jefferson University, discusses Treatment Planning
and Execution
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Dr. Rodrigues demonstrates temperature probe placement in a phantom on the BSD-2000
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Dr. Guerrero (UMMC) with Mr. Stauffer (Thomas Jefferson) demonstrate the operation
of the BSD-500 Superficial/Interstitial Hyperthermia system.
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Participants discuss the operation of the BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia System
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The thermal oncology staff at the University of Maryland use lasers for
reliable, repeatable patient positioning
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Doctors' Biswal and Rodriques discuss operational safety and RF field management
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Using a phantom to simulate temperature management on the BSD-500
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South Korean delegation at the Maryland Proton Center
The last session drew an international crowd, including physicians from South Korea, Poland, and Japan, as well as prominent cancer centers here in the U.S. The feedback we received, and this was a five-star educational program, valuable to any member of a thermal oncology team. Topics covered all aspects of practice management, patient treatment, physics, and workflow. Practice managers shared how adding thermal oncology to their services increased overall service revenue by over 19%. This information is essential for centers that would like to add hyperthermia systems but require cost justification to receive purchase approval.
In 2022, the course will be held October 6th-7th in Baltimore Maryland.
Registration is limited to 24 seats.
Pyrexar Medical continues to support educational outreach from organizations like the University of Maryland, Society of Thermal Medicine, European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, and similar institutions that strive to move forward hyperthermia research in the treatment of cancer. The CME course outline can be found here.
On June 17, Tübingen University Hospital officially inaugurated its new BSD-2000 3D/MR Image-Guided Hyperthermia System (IGHT), supplied by Pyrexar Medical/Dr. Sennewald Medizintechnik GmbH/ and Philips Healthcare.
Image-Guided Hyperthermia uses live MRI images to verify optimal tumor temperature to ensure optimal radiosensitizing benefits of the therapy. This non-invasive approach allows the operator to move the thermal zone or adjust power output with a touchscreen interface. The steering process avoids patient applicator repositioning or the interruption of treatment, improving workflow and thermal dose.
This state-of-the-art system will be shared by the Clinic for Radiation Oncology and the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology. In this way, it not only serves cancer treatment but will also be used for diagnostic imaging, primarily for pediatric radiology.
The photo above shows those taking part in the celebrations: (left to right, Copyright Universitätsklinikum Tübingen/Janina Fischer) Prof. Dr. Daniel Zips (Director of the University Department of Radiation Oncology), Susanne Schäfer (MTA in radiology), Prof. Dr. Michael Bamberg (Chief Medical Director and Chairman of the Executive Board), Dr. Gerhard Sennewald (CEO), Prof. Dr. Konstantin Nikolaou (Director of the University Department of Radiology and of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology), Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schäfer (Head of Pediatric Radiology), and Thomas Richter of Philips GmbH.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University celebrated the opening of its thermal oncology center located in the Henan province of mainland China. The hospital constructed a custom hyperthermia suite to house the BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia system built by Pyrexar Medical. First Affiliated has a long history of hyperthermic clinical research and plans to further pioneer its use, in addition to general clinical use for their cancer patients.
Often referred to as "the largest hospital in the world", First Affiliated offers 7,000 beds. Compare that to the largest medical center in the US, New York-Presbyterian at 2,678 and you get to understand the colossal scale of the facility.
The opening celebration included a presentation ceremony, lectures on hyperthermia in the treatment of cancer, and a tour of the facility, attracting physicians and medical professionals from the area.
What does that mean for the future of hyperthermia in China? Thermal therapy has long been accepted in Asia and is growing steadily. The prestige, influence, and access of a medical facility of this magnitude is expected to result in accelerated demand for Pyrexar system installations throughout China.
A special thanks to the talented team at our distributor Dalian Orientech for their dedication to bringing the best in medical technology to the region.
The link between increased longevity and hyperthermia treatment was considered a landmark study when it published in late 2018 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Recently, our partners at Sennewald Medizintechnik, caught up with renowned expert and cancer study co-author Professor Dr. Lars Lindner of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich to get a deeper understanding of the findings.
After examining over 30 Soft Tissue Sarcoma trials, Prof. Dr. Linder lists the top four significant findings:
- Doxorubicin-based chemotherapy is and remains the standard of care for soft tissue sarcomas.
- The benefit of chemotherapy has also been shown in the adjuvant situation in high-risk patients.
- Neoadjuvant therapy is preferable because it combats potential micrometastasis at the earliest possible time and improves operability.
- Regional hyperthermia improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy and leads to improved patient survival.
The complete interview is available on the Sennewald Medizintechnik April 2021 newsletter.
The 2020 ESHO-Pyrexar Award presentation included the history and merits of Professor Niloy Datta, celebrating his achievements in the field of thermal oncology. What follows the award presentation is nothing less than a Master Class in thermal oncology. Dr. Datta shares highlights of his research and his vision for the pathway to hyperthermia expansion and success.
Along with presenting evidence of the increased value to the patient that hyperthermia brings, Dr. Datta also touches on the financial rationale of adding a thermal oncology program to your hospital.
Below find a summary of recently published works involving hyperthermia by Datta et al.
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Early results and volumetric analysis after spot-scanning proton therapy with concomitant hyperthermia in large inoperable sacral chordomas.
Tran S, Puric E, Walser M, Poel R, Datta NR, Heuberger J, Pica A, Marder D, Lomax N, Bolsi A, Morach P, Bachtiary B, Seddon BM, Schneider R, Bodis S, Weber DC.
Br J Radiol. 2020 Mar;93(1107):20180883. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20180883. Epub 2019 May 14.
PMID: 30943055
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Local hyperthermia combined with radiotherapy and-/or chemotherapy: recent advances and promises for the future.
Datta NR, Ordóñez SG, Gaipl US, Paulides MM, Crezee H, Gellermann J, Marder D, Puric E, Bodis S.
Cancer Treat Rev. 2015 Nov;41(9):742-53. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2015.05.009. Epub 2015 May 27.
PMID: 26051911 Review.
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"HEATPAC" - a phase II randomized study of concurrent thermochemoradiotherapy versus chemoradiotherapy alone in locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
Datta NR, Pestalozzi B, Clavien PA, Siebenhüner A, Puric E, Khan S, Mamot C, Riesterer O, Knuchel J, Reiner CS, Bodis S; members of the HEATPAC Trial Group.
Radiat Oncol. 2017 Nov 21;12(1):183. doi: 10.1186/s13014-017-0923-8.
PMID: 29162142 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
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A special thanks to Dr. Sennewald Medizintechnik for sponsoring the award and presentation.
Medical news may be dominated by pandemic coverage, but cancer research still moves forward. We did a quick search on clinicaltrials.gov for trials using hyperthermia as an adjunct to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. The listing below is a summary of studies around the world.
HIPEC studies have not been included in this list. Listing facilities with Pyrexar hyperthermia systems is not a statement that those systems are used in the study, only that they exist at the facilities conducting the study. If you know of a study not included in the list, please let us know, and we would be happy to share it on our website.
Ivy-Lab Inc., established in 2008, specializes in the supply of medical devices in South Korea. The sales group has been very successful in placing the BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia system in hospitals all over the country.
According to CEO Michael Cha, "is to make the best cancer care available to everyone. We believe the radiative method of hyperthermia is the most efficient hyperthermia method in fighting cancer as it has been proven many times over. That is why we aim to spread the word of radiative hyperthermia to all South Korean doctors and specialists and create awareness in the country".
Ivy Lab has been extremely successful in the very competitive South Korean market; this position elevation as a master distributor ensures that we will continue to see dynamic growth in the region.
The Taipei Municipal Wan Fang Hospital has advanced its thermal oncology center's capability by adding a superficial hyperthermia treatment room alongside the existing deep regional hyperthermia suite. MWFH, managed by Taipei Medical University, is a 732 beds facility located in Taipei, Taiwan, and the country's first publicly owned and privately operated hospital.
"Out of a broad field of competitors, the cancer treatment team recognized Pyrexar as the manufacturer of the best hyperthermia medical equipment in the world," according to Dennis Lin, CEO of Hualong Biomed. Wan Fang established its Hyperthermia Treatment Center in 2016, installing a BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia system. Their team and patients have been looking forward to combining hyperthermia with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy with the new BSD-500 Superficial Hyperthermia system, knowing that its odd ratio can be more than twice, especially for breast cancer and head and neck cancer patients.
In cooperation with Hematology-Oncology, Radiation Oncology, General Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, and Oral Surgery departments, the Hyperthermia Treatment Center aims to benefit cancer patients, collect more clinical data and experience to promote this integrative cancer therapy. This is an important milestone in cancer treatment.
Special recognition to Ray Lauritzen, VP of CustomerCare at Pyrexar Medical. Ray arrived in Taiwan and was required to immediately enter the two-week quarantine for epidemic prevention before starting installation and training. Ray’s professionalism was formally recognized by the associate dean, professor, physician, nurses, medical physicists, radiation therapists, and case managers of the Cancer Treatment Center.
