In Italy scientists are experimenting with modified forms of the food-poisoning bug salmonella to prime the body?s defences to attack skin-cancer cells.
?The evidence so far suggests that stimulating the immune system could be a promising way to treat some types of cancer. many researchers around the world are investigating this type of therapy,? explains Nell Barrie at Cancer Research UK.
Other heat treatments include the ?synergo technique? for bladder cancer. This involves heating the wall of the bladder with a microwave probe in combination with the chemotherapy drug mitomycin C. The heat appears to make the cancer cells more sensitive to the chemotherapy.
Trials are also under way for a procedure known as ?microwave thermotherapy? for a number of cancers, including kidney cancer. This involves heating the kidney using microwave energy.
When an injury is more than 48 hours old heat, in the form of pads, cream, hot water bottles or heat lamps, causes the blood vessels to dilate.
This brings more blood into the area, helping it to heal quicker, says Doctor Meng Aw-Young, St John Ambulance?s medical adviser. ?It also has a direct soothing effect, helping to relieve pain and spasm.?
Heat is particularly effective in treating muscle injuries, bruises, strains and small muscle tears, he adds. Make sure that the temperature is warm rather than hot.
A daily 15-minute sauna could be the equivalent of taking regular exercise and save you from heart disease, claim Japanese scientists. Researchers at Kagoshima University monitored a group of men at risk of heart disease after taking daily saunas. Two weeks later, the men were found to have significantly wider arteries and increased blood flow.
Daily saunas may even reverse the damage to blood vessels caused by high cholesterol levels, according to the researchers.
However Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, warns: ?Saunas cause excessive sweating which means a loss of fluid from your body.
?This reduces your total blood volume which means your heart has to work harder. If you have angina it could trigger an episode.? BACKACHE
Both heat and ice have been found to alleviate low-level back pain.
Changing the temperature of the skin helps moderate the processing of pain sensations in the spinal cord and so desensitises the nerve endings.
Scientists at University College London found controlled heat, when delivered at 40C, effectively blocks pain messages sent from the affected part of the body, thus masking the pain.
?When you get back pain you get muscle spasms and heat allows those muscle spasms to relax which also reduces the pain,? says Sammy Margo, of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
Heat can help arthritis by increasing blood circulation and relieving sore, stiff muscles and joints, especially in the mornings and at bedtimes, according to Arthritis Care.
?Warmth is a more appropriate description of the heat level required,? says a spokeswoman.
Moist heat from rice, wheat or gel bags is best. a warm bath or shower or hot water bottle can also help. Heat packs should not be used on a joint or area of the skin that is very inflamed.
Nor should heat be applied more than 20-30 minutes at a time. Sleeping on an electric blanket can cause the nervous system to have a reflex response known as ?rebound?, which causes the muscles and joints to become stiff and sore.
Simply placing a hot water bottle on your tummy can ease period pain. Scientists at University College London found that putting something warm on the skin can alleviate abdominal pain, including menstrual cramps, in a similar way to painkillers.
?The heat doesn?t just provide comfort and have a placebo effect. It actually deactivates the pain at a molecular level in much the same way as pharmaceutical painkillers work,? explains senior lecturer Dr Brian King, who led the study.
The findings of the study were later confirmed by German scientists and published in the journal Pain.
How heat therapy helped me
REBECCA STEVENS, 35, lives in St Albans, Herts, with husband mark, 35, and their two-year-old son Reubin
About a year ago I started getting a dull ache in my lower back. I used to ride horses and muck out the stables every day. I couldn?t ride at all or even pick Reubin up, which was a horrible feeling for a mother.
My pharmacist recommended Deep Heat Patches For back Pain. I was sceptical but agreed to try them. I couldn?t believe how much better they made me feel. I still get the pain every now and then but as soon as I put one of the patches on they help.
Now instead of being stuck on the sofa, I can pick up Reubin and carry the vacuum cleaner upstairs ? things I had no hope of achieving before.