Interstitial laser hyperthermia in tumour therapy.

The clinical applications of non-laser thermal techniques are limited by technical and practical problems. Experimentally, Interstitial Laser Hyperthermia (ILH) is a feasible technique for producing precise, well defined and predictable areas of tissue necrosis which heal safely in normal liver and pancreas. Early clinical experience has shown that ILH is simple to perform and produces well defined areas of thermally mediated necrosis in liver, breast and pancreatic tumours with negligible morbidity and mortality. Further research is necessary to refine the efficacy of what is a promising new treatment modality.