Thermal conductivity and diffusivity of neuroblastoma tumor.

In the application of hyperthermia to cancer management, it would be useful to know the temperature/tim profile of heated tissues, including the tumor and surrounding normal structures. To obtain this information, knowledge of thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the tissues is required. The thermal conductivity of neuroblastoma was determined by a transient technique to be 89% of the thermal conductivity of water at 25 degrees, 37 degrees, and 44 degrees C. From the latter measurements, the thermal diffusivity of neuroblastoma cells was estimated as 93% of the thermal diffusivity for water. Further, in this study of neuroblastoma cells, the water content was measured as 87.4 g/100 ml of cells, a rather high value not atypical of tumor cells. From literature values of density, specific heat, and thermal conductivity, values for the thermal diffusivity of a variety of normal tissues were estimated. The thermal diffusivity values of normal tissues and neuroblastoma cells exhibit an excellent correlation with water content.