Radiofrequency hyperthermia promotes the therapeutic effects on chemotherapeutic-resistant breast cancer when combined with heat shock protein promoter-controlled HSV-TK gene therapy: Toward imaging-guided interventional gene therapy.

Objective: Gene therapy is a frontier in modern medicine. In the present study, we explored a new technique for the effective treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) breast cancer by combining fully the advantages of multidisciplinary fields, including image-guided minimally invasive interventional oncology, radiofrequency technology, and direct intratumoral gene therapy.

Results: Combination treatment with PHSP-TK plus RFH resulted in significantly higher TK gene transfection/expression, as well as a lower cell proliferation rate and a higher cell apoptosis index, than those of control groups.