Magnetic hyperthermia (MH) has been introduced clinically as an alternative approach for the focal treatment of tumors. MH utilizes the heat generated by the magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) when subjected to an alternating magnetic field (AMF). It has become an important topic in the nanomedical field due to their multitudes of advantages towards effective antitumor therapy such as high biosafety, deep tissue penetration, and targeted selective tumor killing. However, in order for MH to progress and to realize its paramount potential as an alternative choice for cancer treatment, tremendous challenges have to be overcome. Thus, the efficiency of MH therapy needs enhancement. In its recent 60-year of history, the field of MH has focused primarily on heating using MNPs for therapeutic applications. Increasing the thermal conversion efficiency of MNPs is the fundamental strategy for improving therapeutic efficacy. Recently, emerging experimental evidence indicates that MNPs-MH produces nano-scale heat effects without macroscopic temperature rise. A deep understanding of the effect of this localized induction heat for the destruction of subcellular/cellular structures further supports the efficacy of MH in improving therapeutic therapy. In this review, the currently available strategies for improving the antitumor therapeutic efficacy of MNPs-MH will be discussed. Firstly, the recent advancements in engineering MNP size, composition, shape, and surface to significantly improve their energy dissipation rates will be explored. Secondly, the latest studies depicting the effect of local induction heat for selectively disrupting cells/intracellular structures will be examined. Thirdly, strategies to enhance the therapeutics by combining MH therapy with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, photothermal/photodynamic therapy (PDT), and gene therapy will be reviewed. Lastly, the prospect and significant challenges in MH-based antitumor therapy will be discussed. This review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of MH for improving antitumor therapeutic efficacy, which would be of utmost benefit towards guiding the users and for the future development of MNPs-MH towards successful application in medicine.

磁热疗（MH）已作为肿瘤局部治疗的替代方法引入临床。 MH 利用磁性纳米颗粒 (MNP) 在受到交变磁场 (AMF) 作用时产生的热量。由于其在有效抗肿瘤治疗方面具有高生物安全性、深层组织穿透性和靶向选择性肿瘤杀伤等众多优势，已成为纳米医学领域的一个重要课题。然而，为了使 MH 取得进展并实现其作为癌症治疗替代选择的巨大潜力，必须克服巨大的挑战。因此，MH治疗的效率需要提高。在近 60 年的历史中，MH 领域主要关注使用 MNP 进行加热以进行治疗应用。提高MNPs的热转换效率是提高治疗效果的根本策略。最近，新出现的实验证据表明，MNPs-MH 产生纳米级热效应，而没有宏观温升。对这种局部感应热对亚细胞/细胞结构破坏的影响的深入了解进一步支持了 MH 在改善治疗方面的功效。在这篇综述中，将讨论目前提高 MNPs-MH 抗肿瘤治疗效果的可用策略。首先，将探讨在设计 MNP 尺寸、成分、形状和表面以显着提高其能量耗散率方面的最新进展。其次，将检查描述局部感应热对选择性破坏细胞/细胞内结构的影响的最新研究。 第三，将回顾通过将 MH 治疗与化疗、放疗、免疫治疗、光热/光动力治疗 (PDT) 和基因治疗相结合来增强治疗的策略。最后，将讨论基于 MH 的抗肿瘤治疗的前景和重大挑战。本综述旨在提供对 MH 的全面了解，以提高抗肿瘤治疗效果，这对于指导用户以及 MNPs-MH 的未来发展以及在医学上的成功应用将大有裨益。