Progress of Hyperthermic Intrathoracic Chemotherapy in Treatment of Thoracic Malignant Tumors
10.3971/j.issn.1000-8578.2026.25.0930
- VernacularTitle:胸腔热灌注化疗在胸腔恶性肿瘤治疗中的应用进展
- Author:
Jinjin SHENG
1
;
Fei YAN
1
;
Yanling MA
1
;
Jianhai SUN
1
;
Li LI
1
Author Information
1. Department of Oncology, The Third People′s Hospital of Hubei Province, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430033, China.
- Publication Type:SPECIALFEATURE
- Keywords:
Hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy;
Thoracic malignant neoplasm;
Malignant pleural mesothelioma;
Lung cancer pleural metastasis;
Combination therapy
- From:
Cancer Research on Prevention and Treatment
2026;53(6):440-447
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC) is a localized treatment that combines hyperthermia with medications such as chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic agents, targeted therapy, or immunotherapeutic agents. It has advanced clinical progress for conditions such as malignant pleural mesothelioma, pleural metastasis of lung cancer, and pleural dissemination of thymic tumors. Systematic analyses indicate that as an adjuvant therapy to cytoreductive surgery, HITHOC improves patient survival and effectively controls pleural effusion and pleural metastasis. It exerts antitumor effects by enhancing drug penetration through thermal effects, inducing apoptosis, and modulating the immune microenvironment. HITHOC combined with systemic therapies (e.g., chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy) demonstrates synergistic potential, but its role as a local treatment should be clearly defined as adjunctive within the comprehensive management of advanced-stage patients. Further research is needed to clarify its indications, standardized protocols, and long-term efficacy and to explore optimized regimens and personalized combination treatment strategies. This review delves into the key bottlenecks hindering the development of hyperthermia therapy, such as the lack of high-level evidence-based medicine and the absence of standardized diagnostic and efficacy evaluation criteria, and proposes potential solutions.
