Microwave heating of malignant mouse tumors and tissue equivalent phantom systems.

Studies were conducted on the free-field heating of mammary tumors on the flank of mice and of tissue equivalent phantoms. A 200 watt, P.M., 2450 MHZ source was marginal in heating 1 cm tumors from room ambient to 38 degrees C. A technique was developed using warm air to raise the thermal baseline of the tumors to body core temperature and microwaves to produce significant hyperthermal levels. This allowed the production tumor temperatures of 45 degrees with greatly reduced microwave power and with significantly more uniform temperatures. However, the non-uniformity in temperature achieved with monodirectional microwave heating is still considered to be excessive: +/- 1 degrees C.