Efficacy of local hyperthermia in chemotherapy and /or radiation therapy for recurrences of Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Results of local hyperthermia (LhT) in combined modality treatment of 25 patients with chemo-and radio-resistant recurrences of hodgkin’s lymphoma were analyzed. Local hyperthermia for superficial tumors was combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy (41.5–42.6°С for 40–60 min.) Radiation therapy was given in daily fractions of 2 Gy or daily dose was split into 2 fractions of 1 Gy + 1 Gy to a total dose of 20–30 Gy. At 4–6 month follow-up, complete tumor response was observed in 65.0 % of cases, partial response in 15.0 % and disease progression in 20.0 %. At a follow-up of 12–30 months after completion of thermochemotherapy, local control was 16.7 % and at a follow-up of 30–60 months after completion of thermoradiotherapy, local control was 35.4 %. Accordingly, local hyperthermia improves short-and long-term results (local control) of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in patients with chemo-and radio-resistant recurrences of hodgkin’s lymphoma