CLINICAL-TRIALS OF LONG-TERM RF LOCAL HYPERTHERMIA FOR ADVANCED GASTRIC-CANCER

The effect of local hyperthermotherapy (HT) using 13.56-MHz radiofrequency (RF) capacitive heating was evaluated in 25 patients with unresectable or recurrent gastric cancer. HT was carried out once to 3 times a week for a duration of one hour at each session. Patients who underwent RF-HT frequently showed maintenance of performance status, symptomatic improvement and a reduction in tumor size. Moreover, the survival time of 9 patients who had numerous metastases to the distant perioneum was significantly high (p<0.01), compared with 42 historical control patients who also had massive peritoneal dissemination, but had not received HT. The results of this study therefore indicate RF-HT to be a favorable modality in the palliative treatment of patients with far-advanced gastric cancer. © 1990 The Japan Surgical Society.