MicrowaveAblation: Emerging Technology in Cancer Management - AReview

Abstract

Hyperthermia therapy also called thermal therapy is a type of cancer treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures. Research has shown that high temperatures can damage and kill cancer cells, usually with minimal injury to normal tissues. The electromagnetic microwave causes water molecules to vibrate and rotate; resulting in tissue heating and subsequently cell death via thermal induced protein denaturation. Microwave ablation is emerging as an attractive modality for thermal therapy oflarge soft tissue in short periods of time making it suitable in the treatment of liver disease, lung malignancies, renal and adrenal tumours, and bone metastases. Microwave ablation technique in comparison with other thermal therapy techniques demonstrates higher temperature profiles, faster ablation times and larger tumour ablation volumes with minimal effect of perfusion. This review describes physics of microwave ablation, microwave therapy applications in cancer management and prospects and challenges of microwave therapy in cancer management.