Dario Rodrigues Ph.D. is an assistant professor and thermal oncology physicist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Rodrigues's medical specialty is the treatment of cancer using hyperthermia therapy in combination with radiation treatments. Hyperthermia is a thermal therapy technique administered by focusing radio and microwaves to generate a cellular heat response. As a physicist, he performs adjuvant hyperthermia treatments of pelvic, abdominal, and superficial tumors. He is also responsible for the treatment planning, thermal dosimetry, and quality assurance of the clinical hyperthermia equipment.
Dr. Rodrigues is also a talented researcher. At the recent COMSOL Conference, he presented his computer simulation results of a novel noninvasive brain applicator, which will pave the way to treat brain cancers using focused microwave hyperthermia.
Treating brain cancers, like glioblastoma multiforme, with hyperthermia and radiotherapy, is not new. Clinical studies, like "Survival benefit of hyperthermia in a prospective randomized trial of brachytherapy boost +/- hyperthermia for glioblastoma multiforme," Sneed, 1998, was an early phase III landmark study demonstrating heightened clinical response and increased survival. But the invasive nature of interstitial hyperthermia requires a specialty that few possess. Creating a non-invasive method of applying and steering microwave hyperthermia may bring some relief to those with non-operable Glioblastomas.
We will continue to follow his progress in pushing forward these advancements in the field of thermal oncology.
