Clinical wIRA-hyperthermia - heating properties and effectiveness in lower trunk regions - accordance with ESHO quality criteria for superficial hyperthermia

Oct 5, 2026

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Heating characteristics of water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA) radiation were investigated in vivo in two regions of healthy humans using European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology (ESHO) quality standards. wIRA was applied to the abdominal wall and lumbar region for 60 minutes with skin surface temperature limited to 43°C. Tissue temperatures were invasively measured at 1-minute intervals at depths of 1–20 mm. Results showed region-dependent heating during warm-up, ESHO minima exceeded, and temperatures insufficient for direct thermal cell killing. Thermography-controlled wIRA hyperthermia met ESHO criteria as a radiosensitizer while avoiding thermal skin toxicity risk.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

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Background and prior work

Study aims and design

International Journal of Hyperthermia ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: [https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ihyt20](https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ihyt20) Clinical wIRA-hyperthermia: heating properties and effectiveness in lower trunk regions and its accordance with ESHO quality criteria for superficial hyperthermia Helmut Piazena, Peter Vaupel & Andreas R. Thomsen To cite this article: Helmut Piazena, Peter Vaupel & Andreas R. Thomsen (2023) Clinical wIRAhyperthermia: heating properties and effectiveness in lower trunk regions and its accordance with ESHO quality criteria for superficial hyperthermia, International Journal of Hyperthermia, 40:1, 2244208, DOI: 10. 1080/02656736 .2023.2244208 To link to this article: [https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2023.2244208](https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2023.2244208) © 2023 The Author(s) . Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC | View supplementary material | | --- | | Published online: 17 Aug 2023. | | Submit your article to this journal | | Article views: 452 | | View related articles | | View Crossmark data | Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at [https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ihyt20](https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ihyt20) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYPERTHERMIA 2023, VOL. 40, NO. 1, 2244208 [https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2023.2244208](https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2023.2244208) Clinical wIRA-hyperthermia: heating properties and effectiveness in lower trunk regions and its accordance with ESHO quality criteria for superficial hyperthermia Helmut Piazenaa , Peter Vaupelb,c and Andreas R. Thomsenb,c aInterdisciplinary Center of Sleep Medicine, Charit – University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany; bDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg/Brsg, Germany; cGerman Cancer Consortium (DKTK) Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ABSTRACT Purpose: The heating characteristics of water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA) radiation were investigated in vivo in two body regions of healthy humans according to the quality standards of the European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology (ESHO) using an irradiance (infrared-A) of 146Wm􀀁2 as recommended for clinical superficial hyperthermia (HT) . Methods: wIRA was applied to the abdominal wall and lumbar region for 60min. Skin surface temperature was limited to 􀀃43􀀄 C. Tissue temperatures were measured invasively at 1-min intervals before, during and after wIRA exposure using five fiber-optical probes at depths of 1–20mm. Results: Significant differences between body regions occurred during the heating-up phase at depths of 5–15mm. Thermal steady states were reached at depths 􀀃5mm after exposures of 5–6min, and 􀀃20mm after 20min. On average, the minimum requirements of ESHO were exceeded in both regions by the following factors: 􀀅3 for the heating rate, 􀀅2 for the specific absorption rate and 􀀅1.4 for the temperature rise. Tissue depths with T90 􀀆 40􀀄 C and T50 > 41 􀀄 C were 􀀃10mm, and 􀀃20mm for Tmax 􀀃 43􀀄 C. The temperature decay time after termination of irradiation was 1–5min. Corresponding temperatures were 􀀃42.2 􀀄 C for CEM43 and 􀀃41.8 􀀄 C for CEM43T90, i.e., they are inadequate for direct thermal cell killing. Conclusions: Thermography-controlled wIRA-HT complies with the ESHO criteria for superficial HT as a radiosensitizer and avoids the risk of thermal skin toxicity. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 29 March 2023 Revised 19 June 2023 Accepted 29 July 2023 KEYWORDS Water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA) irradiation; superficial hyperthermia; mild hyperthermia; tissue thermometry; skin thermography; ESHO guidelines 1. Introduction Localized mild hyperthermia using water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA-HT) radiation has been shown to be a potent radiosensitizer for superficial cancers and an effective treatment

FAQs

What does the study evaluate about wIRA-hyperthermia?

It evaluates heating characteristics of water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA) in vivo, including region-specific effectiveness in abdominal wall and lumbar tissue and conformity with ESHO quality criteria for superficial hyperthermia.

How was the wIRA treatment delivered and monitored?

wIRA was applied to the abdominal wall and lumbar region for 60 minutes, with skin surface temperature limited to about 43°C. Tissue temperatures were invasively measured at 1-minute intervals across depths of 1–20 mm using fiber-optical probes, and skin thermography was used for control.

What were the main findings regarding ESHO criteria and cell-killing risk?

The study found that ESHO minimum requirements were exceeded in both regions for key metrics during heating-up, while measured tissue temperature levels were inadequate for direct thermal cell killing. The therapy also avoided the risk of thermal skin toxicity as a radiosensitizer.

Oct 5, 2026

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