Researchers Find New Path to Control Tumor Growth

New evidence by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers that specific electromagnetic fields can safely block the proliferation of cancer cells and tumor growth may help refine a new, targeted therapy without any collateral damage.

Very low levels of amplitude-modulated radiofrequency electromagnetic fields block cancer-cell growth in a tumor- and tissue-specific fashion, says Boris Pasche, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAB Division of Hematology and Oncology. Pasche and a research team led by Jacquelyn Zimmerman, graduate student in the UAB Medical Scientist Training Program, conducted studies with cancer cells, replicating the treatment conditions in patients with cancer. The results were published in the Dec.1, 2011, online version of the British Journal of Cancer.

The study provides the first laboratory evidence of an effect observed in earlier clinical studies when cancer cells, exposed to electromagnetic fields emitted by custom-made devices replicating patient-treatment conditions, was found to be blocked by specific modulation frequencies. The new study suggests that fine-tuning field frequency makes the effect specific to certain tissues and tumors and holds clues for how it might work.

Two earlier clinical studies suggested the growth of cancer cells may be altered following exposure to specific frequencies; however, this is the first time an effect has been observed in a laboratory setting, Pasche says.

“We now have laboratory evidence showing a direct effect on cancer cells and providing a plausible mechanism of action based on the modulation frequencies used in patients,” says Pasche. In recent studies, Pasche and his team gathered clinical evidence that very low and safe levels of amplitude-modulated electromagnetic fields may elicit therapeutic responses in patients with advanced liver and breast cancer. “However, until now there was no known mechanism explaining how very low levels of electromagnetic fields might block the growth of cancer cells while sparing healthy cells” says Pasche.

Zimmerman says, “It is exciting to identify an effect targeting only tumor cells with limited side-effects for patients. As a graduate student, it is a thrill to see translational research in action.”

Marijuana Cuts Tumor Growth by 50% The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.

They say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound, Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Lung cancers that over-express EGFR are usually highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy.

THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.