Heat and Radiation Combo Makes Breast Cancer Treatment Guidelines

For the first time, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has included hyperthermia therapy and radiation as combination treatments in its 2007 Breast Cancer Guidelines for recurrent cancer of the chest wall and other localized cancer recurrences.

The announcement boosts the emergence of hyperthermia therapy as a mainline therapy in the treatment of breast cancer. Hyperthermia therapy devices and radiation
therapy devices are the only medical devices listed in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Breast Cancer. All other treatments are drug- or hormone-based.

NCCN, a non-profit alliance of 20 of the world's top cancer centers, issues clinical guidelines in oncology that are the recognized standard for clinical policy in the oncology community. These guidelines are updated continually and are based upon evaluation of scientific data integrated with expert judgment by multidisciplinary panels of expert physicians from NCCN member institutions.