Rational for clinical application of hyperthermia and drugs

The interactions of heat and drug are opening a new fascinating field in oncology. Preclinical data suggest clinical advantages for the combined treatment. Further investigations of the basic mechanisms and their modifications are necessary. Heat induced enhancement of the selectivity of the drugs - first essential of whole-body-thermochemotherapy - seems to occur rather as an exception than as a rule. So the combined use of drugs and localized hyperthermia may become more attractive, when heating techniques will have improved. (orig.)