Whole body hyperthermia induction of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors: implications for rheumatoid diseases.

Objective. To test the hypothesis that 41.8°C x 60 min whole body hyperthermia (WBH) induces increased serum levels of soluble necrosis factor receptors (sTNF-R). Methods. We tested the serum of cancer patients for changes in sTNF-RI and RII levels, as a function of time, pre and post: (1) WBH alone, (2) WBH and chemotherapy, i.e., melphalan (L-PAM), and (3) L-PAM alone. Results. For sTNF-RI there was a marked increase (over pre-treatment values, i.e., 86%) in serum levels after WBH alone (n = 3 ). which peaked 2.5 h post-WBH; L-PAM (iv only resulted in a clip in sTNF-RI seen 40 min postadministration; the combination (WBH + L-PAM), resulted in both the dip at 40 min and the increase at 2.5 h post-treatment. For sTNF-RII both WBH alone (n = 3) and WBH + L-PAM (n = 2), there was an increase in receptor serum levels of 25% and 30%, respectively, which peaked 5.5 h post-treatment, and remained elevated at 24 h. L-PAM alone resulted in a dip in levels only at 40 min post-treatment, sTNF-RI and RII levels returned to baseline values within 7 days post-treatment. Conclusion. 41.8°C WBH results in transient increases in TNF-RI and RII. These results may have therapeutic implications for the application of WBH to TNF mediated disease processes.