A recent study has shown that patients undergoing chemotherapy for soft-tissue sarcomas have a higher probability of being cancer free in three years if they also undergo heat therapy. Heat treatment doubled the patients’ response to chemotherapy. Since the results are very promising, the study has encouraged more exploration of this therapy in treating other types of cancer.



Soft tissue sarcomas are tumors in the connective tissues that support or surround organs of the body. Examples of soft tissues are the muscles, fat, nerves and blood vessels. There are many types of sarcomas and these are named after the affected tissue. The nature and symptoms for all types are similar. About half of the cases would occur in the arms and legs. A third would occur in internal organs. The causes for these tumors are not clearly defined. These tumors could spread cancer throughout the system if left untreated. The goal of the treatment is to reduce or eliminate cancer cells so the patient’s health will not deteriorate and he or she may even fully recover from it.

The conventional treatment for soft tissue tumors is surgery but even this procedure does not guarantee there won’t be any recurrence of cancer. Chemotherapy would follow so the cancerous substances would be removed. The new study shows that the post surgery treatment would be more effective when coupled with heat therapy.

heated gloves

Targeted heat therapy is a technique known as hyperthermia. The affected tissue is warmed up to a temperature range above normal body temperature. The heat kills cancer cells by improving the blood circulation in the tissue so it is more receptive to chemotherapy. More oxygen reaches the tissue and it then becomes more sensitive to radiation. The heat also disables the cancer cells to repair themselves which would eventually lead to their demise. 


heated jacket

The study included a group of people who received the therapy and a control group. The results were very promising. Patients who received heat therapy were half less likely to experience a relapse on the same tissue than those in the control group. They were also disease free for 32 months compared to 18 months for those who didn’t get heat therapy.

In light of this new study, specialists are now considering including heat therapy as part of the treatment to patients with soft-tissue sarcomas. Researchers are also looking into the possibility of using the same kind of treatment for patients of other types of cancer.