Internationally acclaimed SA doctor to announce breakthrough findings on world stage
Breakthrough research in cervical cancer could bring hope to millions of women thanks to the work of a South African doctor, Dr. Carrie Anne Minnaar, and her colleagues from the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre University.
Cervical cancer remains a significant health concern, particularly in low-to-middle-income countries, where morbidity and mortality rates are disproportionately high. Despite advancements in prevention and treatment, the burden persists.
Using a type of heating technology (modulated electro-hyperthermia or mEHT) as a support to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC), the research has proven it to be a cost-saving, successful way to treat patients.
“Modulated electro-hyperthermia is selective, mild, and affordable – and for the first time ever, hyperthermia has now been researched in South Africa,” says Dr Minnaar. “Our studies found that it can cost-effectively improve quality of life for patients and increase their chances of achieving a five-year disease-free-survival status.”
Hyperthermia in oncology, the process of heating up a tumour to sensitise it to radiation or chemotherapy, has been around for decades. However it hasn’t gained traction in low-to-middle-income-countries, largely due to the costs and complexity of the treatments.
Together with her colleagues, Dr. Minnaar’s research, conducted over the course of a nine-year trial (2014-2023) is the first of its kind:
- the first trial on hyperthermia ever to be investigated in a low-to-middle-income-country and to include a cost-effectiveness analysis,
- the first hyperthermia trial to include HIV-positive participants,
- and the first phase III randomised controlled trial on this groundbreaking hyperthermia technique.
“The findings extend beyond statistical success; they offer a potential paradigm shift in the way we approach cervical cancer treatment,” says Minnaar.
The European Society for Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology (ESTRO, has already recognised Dr. Minnaar’s work, and in 2021 Dr. Minnaar won the ctRO Young investigator award, for the results presented on their cervical cancer study.
As South Africa and other developing countries grapple with improving outcomes for LACC patients, Dr. Minnaar’s work stands out.
Her commitment to advancing the field of hyperthermia and bringing hyperthermia to South Africa, proving its feasibility and affordability, extends to other cancer types as well, and is helping to pave the way for the use of this treatment in other resource-constrained countries which are in desperate need of effective but affordable treatments for cancer.
About Dr. Carrie Anne Minnaar
Dr Minnaar specialises in hyperthermic oncology and is well-recognised for her ongoing clinical trials in this field. She holds a PhD in Radiation Sciences from Wits University. Apart from heading her own private hyperthermic practice at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, Oncology Department in South Africa, she is an honorary lecturer at the Department of Radiation Sciences at Wits University.
Dr. Minnaar has specialised in hyperthermic oncology since 2009, when she attended training on local and whole-body hyperthermia techniques in Frankfurt, Germany. Dr Minnaar’s research is focused on improving outcomes in resource constrained settings in Africa. Her work includes a positive phase III trial using modulated electro hyperthermia combined with chemoradiotherapy; several published papers on the results and in related fields of hyperthermia; and co-author of a book on hyperthermia. She has lectured and facilitated training on the technique in oncology facilities around the world.
She is a member of the European Society for Radiation Oncology (ESTRO); the European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology (ESHO); Vice Chairperson of the International Clinical Hyperthermia Society (ICHS); South African Radiobiology Society; and Founder and Chairperson of the African Society for Hyperthermic Oncology. For more information on her practice, please visit: https://onc-hyperthermia.co.za
