Magnetic nanoparticles for interstitial thermotherapy - : feasibility, tolerance and achieved temperatures

Background: The concept of magnetic fluid hyperthermia is clinically evaluated after development of the whole body magnetic field applicator MFH® 300F and the magnetofluid MFL 082AS. This new system for localized thermotherapy is suitable either for hyperthermia or thermoablation. The magnetic fluid, composed of iron oxide nanoparticles dispersed in water, must be distributed in the tumour and is subsequently heated by exposing to an alternating magnetic field in the applicator. We performed a feasibility study with 22 patients suffering from heavily pretreated recurrences of different tumour entities, where hyperthermia in conjunction with irradiation and/or chemotherapy was an option. The potential to estimate (by post-implantation analyses) and to achieve (by improving the technique) a satisfactory temperature distribution was evaluated in dependency on the implantation technique.Material and methods: Three implantation methods were established: Infiltration under CT fluoroscopy (group A), TRUS (transr...