Magnetic Hyperthermia for Cancer Therapy: Bridging Nanoparticle Physics, Field Engineering, and Tumor Biology

Abstract

Magnetic hyperthermia (MH) is an emerging nanotheranostic strategy in which magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) convert alternating magnetic-field (AMF) energy into localized heat for cancer treatment. This review examines how heat generation, nanoparticle design, field application, and tumor biology jointly determine therapeutic efficacy and clinical translatability. Fifty-five peer-reviewed studies, published predominantly from 2020 to 2026 and complemented by foundational work, were analyzed across four domains: heat-generation mechanisms, nanoparticle architecture and synthesis, application conditions and thermal dosimetry, and biological responses. The evidence shows that Néel and Brownian relaxation, hysteresis losses, and collective magnetic interactions are governed not only by composition, size, morphology, anisotropy, and surface chemistry but also by field amplitude, frequency, waveform, aggregation, immobilization, and intratumoral distribution. Consequently, high specific absorption rate (SAR) or intrinsic loss power (ILP) in water does not reliably predict cellular or in vivo performance. Translation requires clinically safe AMF exposure, standardized SAR/ILP measurement and reporting, scalable synthesis, validated thermal models, quantitative thermal-dose metrics, and assessment of apoptosis, necrosis, ferroptosis, lysosomal death, and antitumor immunity. MH should therefore be developed as an integrated nanotheranostic therapy that co-optimizes particle physics, field engineering, heat transfer, and tumor biology. The major focus of this review is the integrated co-optimization of nanoparticle physics, AMF engineering, heat transfer and dosimetry, and tumor biology to improve the clinical translation of magnetic hyperthermia.