Abstract
Since 1979, we have treated patients with recurrent breast cancer in previously irradiated areas with a combination of (relatively) low doses of radiotherapy and hyperthermia. During the earlier years, the reirradiation dose was very low, but, based on experience, gradually increased to 32 Gy. Analysis of the first 97 patients shows that the chance to achieve a complete response increased with smaller volumes and an increasing radiotherapy dose. The radiation schedule of 8×4 Gy in 4 weeks, combined with hyperthermia, appears safe, effective (61% complete response) and well tolerated. Analysis of the results with 54 evaluable patients treated more recently with the same reirradiation plus hyperthermia schedule shows a remarkable increase in chance to achieve a complete response: to 83%. These improved results reflect the development and use of a better heating technique. The steep increase in complete response rate for larger tumors indicates that the therapeutic gain from “good quality” hyperthermia in addition to radiotherapy indeed may be considerable.
Published Version
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