Hyperthermia treatment planning: clinical application and ongoing research

Hyperthermia, i.e. heating tumour tissue to 40-43°C, is applied clinically to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Treatment planning can be a very valuable tool to improve clinical treatment quality. Initially, hyperthermia treatment planning started as a research tool, but developments over the past decade have resulted in more advanced simulation tools and integration of treatment planning in clinical work flow is emerging. This paper discusses the most important clinical applications of hyperthermia treatment planning and ongoing research.