Comparison of intratumor and intraluminal temperatures during locoregional deep hyperthermia of pelvic tumors.

Purpose: To investigate whether intraluminal thermometry provides sufficient information to apply high quality deep hyperthermia in pelvic tumors.

Patients And Methods: The intratumor and intraluminal temperatures of 48 patients were analyzed per cancer type: rectum (21 male, 14 female), cervix (n=8), and bladder (n=5). Temperature-dose parameters were calculated, temperature curves within each treatment session were compared, and correlation between intratumor and intraluminal temperatures was analyzed.

Results: Intratumor and intraluminal temperatures at the same time points during individual treatments were highly correlated (mean correlation coefficient: 0.93). However, the quantitative level differed from 0.1 to 1.1 degrees C and the differences of the time-temperature graphs varied per tumor group. Average intratumor and intraluminal temperatures were not different in the four groups. Intratumor thermometry was found not superior over intraluminal thermometry to improve tumor temperature level and homogeneity by SAR steering.

Conclusion: Intraluminal thermometry provides sufficient information to apply deep hyperthermia to individual patients with centrally located rectum, cervix or bladder cancer.