Hyperthermia/Thermal Therapy With Chemotherapy to Treat Inoperable or Metastatic Tumors

Summary

Thermal therapy (hyperthermia, or heat) increases chemotherapy cancer cell kill. By itself, thermal therapy can also kill cancer cells. Whole body thermal therapy is a systemic treatment; whole-body fever-range thermal therapy can safely treat cancer cells wherever they are throughout the entire body. In this study, we are testing the combination of fever-range heat treatment and chemotherapy to test 1) The response of three types of cancer (small-cell lung, neuroendocrine cancer, lung cancer, and gastric cancer) to the thermo-chemotherapy improves cancer response compared to the effect of only chemotherapy drugs in current use; 2) whether the thermo-chemotherapy treatment helps the person's own body fight the cancer cells; and 3) whether this treatment is safe and comfortable for the patient. This study does not offer heat treatment alone. Any patient with inoperable or metastatic small cell lung cancer, neuroendocrine cancer (any organ), gastric cancer, or lung cancer, can be treated with the Phase II protocol therapy; however, the patient will need to undergo selected medical tests to make sure this treatment would be safe for them.

Timeline

Start

2002-07

Primary completion

2013-06

Completion

2014-06

Drugs

Indications