Magnetic resonance thermometry (MRT) can measure in-vivo 3D-temperature changes in real-time and noninvasively. However, for the oropharynx region and the entire head and neck, motion potentially introduces large artifacts. Considering long treatment times of 60-90 min, this study aims to evaluate whether MRT around the oropharynx is clinically feasible for hyperthermia treatments and quantify the effects of breathing and swallowing on MRT performance. A 3D-ME-FGRE sequence was used in a phantom cooling down and around the oropharynx of five volunteers over ∼75 min. The imaging protocol consisted of imaging with acceleration (ARC = 2), number of image averages (NEX = 1,2 and 3). For volunteers, the acquisitions included a breath-hold scan and scans with deliberate swallowing. MRT performance was quantified in neck muscle, spinal cord and masseter muscle, using mean average error (MAE), mean error (ME) and spatial standard deviation (SD). In phantom, an increase in NEX leads to a significant decrease in SD, but MAE and ME were unchanged. No significant difference was found in volunteers between the different scans. There was a significant difference between the regions evaluated: neck muscle had the best MAE (=1.96 °C) and SD (=0.82 °C), followed by spinal cord (MAE = 3.17 °C, SD = 0.92 °C) and masseter muscle (MAE = 4.53 °C, SD = 1.16 °C). Concerning the ME, spinal cord did best, then neck muscle and masseter muscle, with values of -0.64 °C, 1.15 °C and -3.05 °C respectively. Breathing, swallowing, and different ways of imaging (acceleration and NEX) do not significantly influence the MRT performance in the oropharynx region. The ROI selected however, leads to significant differences.

The global incidence of cancer continues to rise, posing a significant public health concern. Although numerous cancer therapies exist, each has limitations and complications. The present study explores alternative cancer treatment approaches, combining hyperthermia and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and amine-functionalized carbon quantum dots (A-CQDs) were synthesized separately and then covalently conjugated to form a single nanosystem for combinational therapy (M-CQDs). The successful conjugation was confirmed using zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UV-visible spectroscopy. Morphological examination in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) further verified the conjugation of CQDs with MNPs. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) revealed that M-CQDs contain approximately 12 weight percentages of carbon. Hyperthermia studies showed that both MNP and M-CQDs maintain a constant therapeutic temperature at lower frequencies (260.84 kHz) with high specific absorption rates (SAR) of 118.11 and 95.04 W/g, respectively. In vitro studies demonstrated that MNPs, A-CQDs, and M-CQDs are non-toxic, and combinational therapy (PDT + hyperthermia) resulted in significantly lower cell viability (~4%) compared to individual therapies. Similar results were obtained with Hoechst and propidium iodide (PI) staining assays. Hence, the combination therapy of PDT and hyperthermia shows promise as a potential alternative to conventional therapies, and it could be further explored in combination with existing conventional treatments.

OBJECTIVE: Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) presents a major challenge in the treatment of late-stage, solid tumors, with traditional therapies limited by poor drug penetration. We evaluated a novel hyperthermic pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (HPIPAC) system using a human abdominal cavity model for its efficacy against AGS gastric cancer cells.
METHODS: A model simulating the human abdominal cavity and AGS gastric cancer cell line cultured dishes were used to assess the efficacy of the HPIPAC system. Cell viability was measured to evaluate the impact of HPIPAC under 6 different conditions: heat alone, PIPAC with paclitaxel (PTX), PTX alone, normal saline (NS) alone, heat with NS, and HPIPAC with PTX.
RESULTS: Results showed a significant reduction in cell viability with HPIPAC combined with PTX, indicating enhanced cytotoxic effects. Immediately after treatment, the average cell viability was 66.6%, which decreased to 49.2% after 48 hours and to a further 19.6% after 120 hours of incubation, demonstrating the sustained efficacy of the treatment. In contrast, control groups exhibited a recovery in cell viability; heat alone showed cell viability increasing from 90.8% to 94.4%, PIPAC with PTX from 82.7% to 89.7%, PTX only from 73.3% to 74.8%, NS only from 90.9% to 98.3%, and heat with NS from 74.4% to 84.7%.
CONCLUSIONS: The HPIPAC system with PTX exhibits a promising approach in the treatment of PC in gastric cancer, significantly reducing cell viability. Despite certain limitations, this study highlights the system\'s potential to enhance treatment outcomes. Future efforts should focus on refining HPIPAC and validating its effectiveness in clinical settings.

OBJECTIVE: To review long-term outcomes of circumscribed choroidal hemangioma (CCH).
METHODS: Hospital charts of all CCH cases diagnosed from 2008 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed.
RESULTS: All 172 patients were managed with either observation, transpupillary thermotherapy, argon laser photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, plaque brachytherapy or stereotactic radiosurgery. The most common 3 modes of management were clinical observation (30.2%), transpupillary thermotherapy (52.9%) and argon laser photocoagulation (8.7%). Median follow-up time was 10 months (range: 3, 160). Anatomical outcomes were stable in 87.1% of observation group and improved in 60.5% of thermotherapy group. Quantified optical coherence tomography angiography findings showed statistical differences in vascular and perfusion densities in fellow eyes of hemangioma patients.
CONCLUSIONS: Circumscribed choroidal hemangioma can be treated in various ways. Transpupillary thermotherapy is an anatomically effective treatment in selected cases. The diagnosis of CCH may have vascular implications in fellow eyes of the patients.

子宫颈癌的发病率居女性生殖系统恶性肿瘤的首位，放疗是其主要的治疗方法之一。放疗抵抗是导致子宫颈癌治疗失败及预后不良的主要原因，亟待解决。完善放疗技术并探索理想的增敏方法以改善预后已成为近年来子宫颈癌放疗领域的研究热点。本文综述了子宫颈癌放疗抵抗机制及常用增敏方法的进展，主要归纳总结了放疗抵抗与DNA损伤修复、细胞周期、肿瘤乏氧、代谢异常等机制的关系，并重点阐述化疗药物、热疗、抗血管生成、影响DNA损伤修复治疗、药物递送系统等放疗增敏方法在子宫颈癌治疗中的应用，以期为子宫颈癌放疗研究提供新的思路和方向。.

OBJECTIVE: Hyperthermia represents an adjuvant local anticancer strategy which relies on the increase of temperature beyond the physiological level. In this study, we investigated the anticancer potential of Fe3O4 and Fe3O4core Aushell nanoparticles as hyperthermic agents in terms of cytotoxicity and studied the expression of cellular markers of proliferation (changes in mRNA levels via real-time polymerase chain reaction).
METHODS: The human breast cancer cell line SK-BR-1 was incubated with either Fe3O4 or Fe3O4core Aushell nanoparticles stabilized with tryptophan, prior to hyperthermia treatment. The normal HEK293 cell line was used as a control. Toxicity was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay to estimate possible toxic effects of the tested nanoparticles. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, mRNA expression of three indicators of proliferation, namely marker of proliferation Ki-67, DNA topoisomerase II alpha (TOP2A) and TPX2 microtubule nucleation factor (TPX2), was investigated.
RESULTS: At each concentration tested, Fe3O4core Aushell nanoparticles showed greater toxicity compared to Fe3O4, while SK-BR-3 cells were more susceptible to their cytotoxic effects compared to the HEK293 cell line. The expression of Ki-67, TOP2A and TPX2 was reduced in SK-BR-3 cells by both Fe3O4 or Fe3O4core Aushell nanoparticles compared to untreated cells, while the only observed change in HEK293 cells was the up-regulation of TOP2A.
CONCLUSIONS: Both Fe3O4core Aushell and Fe3O4 NPs exhibit increased cytotoxicity to the cancer cell line tested (SK-BR-3) compared to HEK293 cells. The down-regulation in SK-BR-3 cells of the three proliferative markers studied, Ki-67, TOP2A and TPX2, after incubation with NPs suggests that cells that survived thermal destruction were not actively proliferating.

As the prevalence of chronic non-specific spinal pain rises, the utilization of diverse massage devices for therapeutic intervention increases rapidly. However, research on their mechanisms, particularly those involving spinal twisting, is limited. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of heat application and spinal twisting massage techniques on individuals suffering from chronic non-specific spinal pain. A total of 36 individuals were divided into two groups: a control group (18 participants) and an experimental group (18 participants). The experimental group received heat treatment plus spinal twisting massage twice a week for four weeks, while the control group received heat therapy plus traditional vibration massage techniques. Effectiveness was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT), the Korean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (K-WOMAC) Index, spine tilt, and Cobb angle. VAS, K-WOMAC, and PPT significantly improved in both groups at all three time points. VAS notably decreased in the experimental group compared to the control group (p-value: 0.0369). Despite improvements in K-WOMAC and PPT scores within the experimental group, statistical significance remained elusive. Furthermore, spine tilt and Cobb angle showed no significant differences from baseline to the 6th week. In conclusion, the application of thermotherapy coupled with twisting massage demonstrates significant efficacy in mitigating chronic non-specific spinal pain, surpassing the pain-relief outcomes achieved through heat therapy in combination with standard vibration massage techniques.

Although the moderate thermal stimulation of articular cartilage exerts chondroprotective effects, it is difficult to effectively heat deep articular cartilage with conventional methods. Photosensitizers increase the ambient temperature using near-infrared (NIR) radiation, which has high tissue permeability. We hypothesized that the intra-articular administration of photosensitizers and NIR irradiation would exert a greater heating effect on articular cartilage. We aimed to evaluate the heating effect of this method on cultured chondrocytes and rat knee cartilage. In vitro, we irradiated a photosensitizer-containing medium with NIR and measured changes in the medium temperature, cytotoxicity, and gene expression of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 and aggrecan (ACAN). In vivo, the knee joints of rats treated with photosensitizers were irradiated with NIR, and changes in intra-articular temperature and gene expression were measured, alongside histological analysis. The results showed that the medium and intra-articular temperature were raised to approximately 40 °C with no apparent disruption to articular cartilage or the immunohistochemically enhanced staining of HSP70 in chondrocytes. The gene expression of HSP70 and ACAN was increased in both cultured and articular cartilage. In summary, this method can safely heat joints and enhance cartilage metabolism by inducing HSP70 expression in articular cartilage. It presents a new hyperthermia therapy with effective cartilage protection.

BACKGROUND: The safety and efficacy of CRS + HIPEC combined with urinary tract resection and reconstruction are controversial. This study aims to summarize the clinicopathological features and to evaluate the safety and survival prognosis of CRS + HIPEC combined with urinary tract resection and reconstruction.
METHODS: The patients who underwent urinary tract resection and reconstruction as part of CRS surgery were retrospectively selected from our disease-specific database for analysis. The clinicopathological characteristics, treatment-related variables, perioperative adverse events (AEs), and survival outcomes were studied using a descriptive approach and the K-M analysis with log-rank comparison.
RESULTS: Forty-nine patients were enrolled. Perioperative serious AEs (SAEs) were observed in 11 patients (22.4%), with urinary SAEs occurring in 3 patients (6.1%). Additionally, there were 23 cases (46.8%) involving urinary adverse events (UAEs). The median overall survival (OS) in the entire cohort was 59.2 (95%CI: 42.1-76.4) months. The median OS of the UAE group and No-UAE group were 59.2 months (95%CI not reached), and 50.5 (95%CI: 11.5 to 89.6) months, respectively, with no significant difference (P = 0.475). Furthermore, there were no significant differences in OS based on the grade of UAEs or the number of UAEs (P = 0.562 and P = 0.622, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: The combination of CRS + HIPEC with urinary tract resection and reconstruction is associated with a high incidence of Grade I-II UAEs, which do not have an impact on OS. The safety profile of this combined technique is acceptable. However, this is a retrospective single-center single-arm analysis, with limitations of generalizability and potential selection bias. The findings need high-level validation.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the feasibility and safety of whole-body hyperthermia pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (WBH-PIPAC) in patients with peritoneal surface malignancies.
METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed a database of 28 patients who had received one cycle of normothermic PIPAC prior to repetitive WBH-PIPACs. WBH (39-40°C) was induced using a Water-filtered infrared A device. Doxorubicin plus cisplatin or oxaliplatin was nebulized into a constant capnoperitoneum of 20 mmHg for 30 min at doses of 6.0 mg, 30.0 mg, or 120 mg per m2 body surface area, respectively. The primary outcome measures were feasibility and perioperative complications.
RESULTS: The median age was 62 years (range=45-78 years). Primary tumor sites included the upper gastrointestinal tract (n=9), colon/rectum (n=7), hepato-pancreato-biliary system (n=3), peritoneum (n=2), ovaries (n=2), and unknown primary (n=5). The induction of WBH failed in one patient (6 liters ascites). After a median warming period of 95 min (53-117 min), the median rectal temperature (Trec) was 39.5°C (39.2-39.9°C). No hyperthermia-related side effects were observed. Twenty-seven patients received 50 WBH-PIPACs. The median time of therapeutic capnoperitoneum and treatment time with Trec ≥39°C was 39 min (37-43 min) and 66 min (53-69 min), respectively. The overall rate of postoperative procedure-related complications was 9/50, including seven grade I and two grade II complications. There were no grade III-V complications.
CONCLUSIONS: In a highly selected group of patients, the feasibility and perioperative safety of WBH-PIPAC was comparable to normothermic PIPAC.