{{Short description, Experimental device once thought to have treated cancer
The Tronado Machine was a device which employed
ultra high frequency
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...
or
microwave
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...
radiation as a
hyperthermia therapy
Hyperthermia therapy ''(or hyperthermia, or thermotherapy)'' is a type of medical treatment in which body tissue is exposed to temperatures above body temperature, in the region of . Hyperthermia is usually applied as an adjuvant to radioth ...
for
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
; however, tests have failed to back its treatment claims. A man named Tronado designed the machine in the 1970s.
The treatment was improved and a new type of machine built by Dr John Holt who was formerly Head of
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...
Perth, Western Australia
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
. He later established an independent clinic in West Perth. After Holt's retirement the clinic moved to Claremont where a research institute was established alongside the clinic. A further treating facility was established by Dr Hugh Tinsley in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland. This clinic and the treatment were assessed by the Irish government and the clinic received government grants to assist with the ongoing costs of establishment.
Lack of scientific validation
Tests conducted on behalf of the
National Health and Medical Research Council
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded res ...
of Australia have concluded that UHF Radiowave therapy produces no therapeutic benefit when used in conjunction with conventional cancer treatment. The repor ''Review of the Use of Microwave Therapy for the Treatment of Patients with Cancer'' conducted a review of the literature as well as an audit of Dr. Holt's patient records between 1973 and 2003. Regarding the literature review, the report stated "There is currently no published scientific evidence that shows benefit of UHF cancer therapy alone or when combined with ‘glucose-blocking agents’ (GBA) as treatment for patients with cancer."
Regarding the audit of Dr. Holt's clinical data, the report says, in part, "Despite the small patient treatment groups, some trends were evident in this audit. Firstly, the complete remission rates were not high in any group. The study did not confirm Dr Holt’s previous reports of a 100% response rate for bladder tumours (Holt, 1988). The initial response rate (complete response and partial response) was 50% for RT alone, 34% for RT + UHF and 17% for UHF + GBA. Following salvage surgery, the overall response rate (complete response and partial response) was higher for patients treated with RT alone (44%) compared to RT+UHF (25%) or UHF + GBA (11%)."
PDF
Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...