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Review
. 2024 Apr 17;10(8):e29866.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29866. eCollection 2024 Apr 30.

Enhancing the therapeutic impact of sublethal radiofrequency hyperthermia in malignant solid tumor treatment

Jiayun Liu  1   2 , Guilin Zhang  1   2 , Xinyi Li  1   2 , Chuansheng Zheng  1   2 , Xuefeng Kan  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Enhancing the therapeutic impact of sublethal radiofrequency hyperthermia in malignant solid tumor treatment

Jiayun Liu et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an effective alternative to surgery for managing some malignant solid tumors. However, for medium-to-large tumors (>3 cm), tumors adjacent to large blood vessels, and certain irregular tumors, sublethal radiofrequency hyperthermia (RFH) often produces a margin of ablated tumor owing to the "heat-sink" effect. This effect typically leaves behind viable residual tumors at the margin. Several studies have reported that a sublethal RFH can significantly enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and gene therapy for malignant solid tumors. The possible mechanisms by which RFH enhances these therapies include heat-induced tissue fracturing, increased permeability of the cytoplasmic membrane, exaggerated cellular metabolism, blockade of the repair pathways of radiation-damaged tumor cells, and activation of the heat shock protein pathways. Therefore, RFA in combination with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, or gene therapy may help reduce the rates of residual and recurrent tumors after RFA of malignant solid tumors.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Gene therapy; Immunotherapy; Radiofrequency ablation; Radiofrequency hyperthermia; Radiotherapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The mechanisms of sublethal RFH-enhanced chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and gene therapy for malignant solid tumor. For chemotherapy, the sublethal RFH enhanced-mechanisms included modulating the function of the cPt transporter Ctr1, amplifying the cellular metabolism, and deactivated the multidrug-resistant pumps. For radiotherapy, the sublethal RFH enhanced the efficacy of radiotherapy by blocking the DNA repair pathways, increasing the sensitivity to radiation, and initiating the radiation-related immune responses. For immunotherapy, the sublethal RFH enhanced the effect of immunotherapy by increasing the accumulation of the immunotherapeutics, improving the immune response to tumor cells, and reducing the resistance to immunotherapy. For gene therapy, the sublethal RFH enhanced mechanisms involved in increased gene transfection, up-regulated gene expression, and activation of the heat shock protein pathways.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The flow diagram of study selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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