(Electric Field Therapy) How Does It Affect Cancer Cells?
Medical Supporter — Information Notice
This article is a summary of international medical information and is not medical advice; it cannot replace the diagnosis or treatment plan of your attending physician. The medical technologies, drug information and clinical data presented here are compiled from public literature and official statements of major Japanese medical institutions; the applicability and outcome of any therapy vary with each patient and must be assessed individually by a qualified physician.
- November 2, 2019
- Reading time: 2 minutes
Updated: March 17, 2020
Electric field therapy has been studied since 2012, with many scientific teams continuously conducting experimental validation. A product targeting brain cancer has received FDA approval. This article shares a TED talk on electric field therapy as a reference. At present, clinical trials are ongoing not only in brain cancer, but also in other cancers such as lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. Any new developments will be shared.
Excerpt from the 2012 TED Talk
First, an electric field is not an electric current passing through patient tissue. It is not ionizing radiation like X-rays or proton beams that bombard and destroy tissue to damage DNA. It is also not magnetic.
What is an electric field? An electric field is a "field" established in space by "charged particles." It possesses a "force" that acts on, attracts, and generates charges within the patient's body.
In cancer, cells divide rapidly, ultimately causing tumors to grow rapidly and out of control. Imagine a cell from an electrical perspective — like a small space station. Inside that space station is our genetic material, chromosomes, contained within the nucleus and surrounded by the cytoplasmic fluid outside. Certain specialized proteins needed for cell division float freely in all directions throughout the cytoplasmic fluid. Critically, these specialized proteins are among the most easily charged substances in our bodies.
When a cell begins to divide, the nucleus dissolves, and chromosomes line up in the middle of the cell. These specialized proteins arrange themselves in a three-dimensional alignment and connect — described in words, they click together at endpoints like chains. These chains attach to the genetic material and pull it apart, ultimately dividing one cell into two. This is how one cancer cell becomes two, two become four, and eventually tumors grow out of control.
"Tumor Treating Fields" use external sensors connected to a field generator to create an artificial electric field around that "space station." When the cellular "space station" is immersed in an electric field, these easily charged proteins are activated, controlled, and prevented from forming chains — the so-called "mitotic spindle" — the proteins needed to pull genetic material into two daughter cells.
What is observed is that cells attempt to divide, and after several hours, either enter a state called "cell suicide" (apoptosis), or form unhealthy daughter cells that undergo premature aging and death after the cell has managed to divide. This can be observed directly.
Source: https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_doyle_treating_cancer_with_electric_fields
Tags: #ElectricFieldTherapy #BrainTumor #TED
- Electric Field Therapy (ECCT)
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