Mayo Installs First in US Hyperthermia Cancer Device in Rochester

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Mayo Clinic has announced the installation of a high-tech cancer research tool that is the first of its kind in the United States.

A news release says Mayo Clinic, in collaboration with New Phase Ltd., has installed a magnetic nanoparticle-mediated hyperthermia machine in the Jacobson Building in downtown Rochester. The device uses heat to damage and kill cancer cells.

Inside the First U.S. Installation

“We have known for more than a century that temperature is the Achilles’ heel of cancer, but conventional hyperthermia has limitations and is not widely available,” says Scott Lester, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. “The hyperthermia technology we’ve installed is still investigational but may enable us to harness heat in a novel way for advanced cancers, and we’re grateful to be the first to use it in our research.”

 

How Magnetic Nanoparticles Target Cancer

According to Mayo Clinic, the hyperthermia machine “is an electromagnetic induction system that targets the torso." The treatment involves the use of iron oxide–containing magnetic nanoparticles, which, after being introduced into the patient through an IV, collect in cancerous tumors. The machine is then used to direct electromagnetic waves at the tumors to heat them and eradicate cancer cells.

Induction Cooktop

Dr. Lester likened it to an induction cooktop that heats food using special pans that interact with it. He says the medical technology utilizes the nanoparticles to turn the cancerous tumor into an induction cooktop pan.

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The news release says the new machine will be used to support research that evaluates the “safety, feasibility, and potential effectiveness of this approach in cancer treatment.” The installation of the device was completed in November, and the first U.S. patient received the hyperthermia treatment as part of a clinical trial that began in December.