Thermal ablation and high-temperature thermal therapy: Overview of technology and clinical implementation

Abstract

High-temperature hyperthermia or thermal therapy is being applied for destruction of canceroustissue, eradication or reduction of benign tumours and targeted tissue modification and remodelling.Many of these high-temperature technologies provide a minimally-invasive alternative with lowermorbidities compared to the traditional surgical procedures. The effects of high-temperature thermalexposure on tissues, examples of heating technology and procedures of clinical practice related tohigh-temperature thermal therapy are reviewed. This brief review encompasses interstitial, endocavity,intraluminal and external applications of RF, microwave, ultrasound, laser and thermal conductionenergy sources. The technology is prevalent and in various levels of advancement, with themove toward more spatially-accurate and controllable heating systems combined with image-guidanceand treatment verification warranted, especially for the treatment of cancer.