How heat can help
Cancer therapy can be supported with many accompanying measures. At the Center for Integrative Oncology, for example, through "hyperthermia". This therapy works with heat and helps to improve the effect of basic cancer treatment.
He has been working with this therapy for over 15 years and is a representative for medical oncology on the board of the Swiss Hyperthermia Network (SHN). "If the indication for hyperthermia is right, then our experience is excellent," says the Medical Director of the ZIO Zurich.
Improve the effect with heat
Hyperthermia is a form of heat therapy. During treatment, individual parts of the body (or the entire body) are heated with short-wave radiation. The therapy specifically exploits a weakness in the cancer cells: These are more sensitive to heat than healthy cells. The tumor is overheated during hyperthermia, the blood circulation and thus the oxygen supply in the tumor are improved and the cancer drugs reach where they are supposed to work more easily. Radiotherapy becomes more effective. Hyperthermia therefore promotes the treatment success of radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
Expertise, experience and sensitivity
Accordingly, Hübenthal emphasizes that hyperthermia is only useful in addition to other therapies. As a founding member of the "Swiss Hyperthermia Network", Hübenthal and his team take part in the weekly Hyperthermia Tumor Board, which is attended by almost all major clinics. "We are networked throughout Switzerland and discuss in the hyperthermia board in which cases local hyperthermia promises to be successful in addition to conventional cancer treatment. Many clinics refer their patients to us for this complementary treatment," explains Hübenthal.
"It is always impressive to see how effective hyperthermia can be."
Dr. med. Boris Hübenthal
At the ZIO Zurich, where hyperthermia has been used for many years, patients are closely monitored. A treatment lasts around one to one and a half hours. "Good positioning and permanent temperature measurement are important. Firstly, to make the therapy really successful and secondly, to make the treatment as comfortable as possible for the patients," says Hübenthal. Like any medical measure, hyperthermia also involves certain risks. "However, these are very low, while the benefits of hypertherapy are extremely high." Specifically, in rare cases, the heat can cause local overheating, but this can be easily alleviated.
Forms of therapy and assumption of costs
Local hyperthermia is an evidence-based therapy. If local hyperthermia is approved by the Swiss Hyperthermia Network tumor board mentioned above, basic health insurance will cover the costs of treatment. Whole-body hyperthermia is considered a complementary medical therapy and must be paid for via supplementary insurance or directly by the patient. Both forms of therapy are offered at the ZIO Zurich.
