Low-intensity electromagnetic fields contribute to the reduction of tumor
New York
The first messages from clinical trials of a new form of cancer therapy using low intensity electromagnetic fields are very encouriging, according to a study published in British Journal of Cancer.
The new technique has managed to shrink tumors in patients with liver cancer.

Researchers from the U.S., France, Switzerland and Brazil, led by Professor Boris Pasco, University of Alabama, are optimistic that the new method in the future may be a new therapeutic technique. They note that the method is still in its infancy and will require several more years of clinical testing and refinement.

The treatment is applied in a perfectly controlled clinical environment, where in the presence of medical personnel, patients enter in the oral cavity an “antenna” (spoon-shaped), which transmits low electromagnetic fields in their body. The session, when applied three times a day, managed to increase the life expectancy of patients with advanced liver cancer and tumors were reduced, while the surrounding healthy cells remained unaffected.

According to scientists, the new method is well tolerated for long periods and can be combined with other anticancer therapies.

Dr. Pasko has already secured approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct clinical trials on large patient groups, while he is in negotiations with companies in various countries to provide funding for future research .

In 2009, Dr. Pasko and his colleagues had published a study in the journal Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research, which showed that low level electromagnetic fields at specific frequencies (0,1 Hz to 114 KHz) slowed down the growth of cancer cells in some patients. Different kinds of cancer responded to electromagnetic fields of different frequencies.

The exact biological mechanism beneath this relationship is not yet known. One hypothesis is that electromagnetic fields interfere and modify the activity of genes in cancer cells. In some cases this leads to block the division and proliferation of these cells, causing the tumor to stop growing or even start shrinking gradually.

Dr. Pasko is optimistic that the new technique will be used in the future not only on liver tumors but for the treatment of breast cancer and possibly other forms of the disease.

The new method is a sensation, given the concern that electromagnetic fields from mobile phones and the pillars of the electric current are thought to cause cancer. The researchers stress, however, that in their experiments, the intensity of the radiation fields are 100 to 1,000 times lower than that of a mobile phone.