August 17, 2019 (Medical News Today)
Has a team of engineers and cancer biologists discovered a way to delay, or stop, the spread of breast cancer cells?
According to researchers, electromagnetic fields may be able to help stop the spread of breast cancer cells when most treatments fail in efficacy in metastatic cancer.
In a new study published in Communications Biology, researchers have found that electromagnetic fields are effective in stopping the spread of certain breast cancer cells.
A new tool was built by a team from Ohio State University, capable of targeting the migration of cancer cells. This, known as “Helmholtz coil,” was used to apply an even amount of electromagnetic energy to a range of breast cancer cells.
In a lab setting, the team was able to precisely examine how the electromagnetic energy impacted the shape and movement of cancer cells.
A significant finding from this study was that the most challenging cells to treat, metastatic triple-negative breast cancer cells, were most responsive to the electromagnetic fields. This method, along with other forms of cancer therapy, could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of treatment.
Next steps include testing and verifying results on animals before moving onto humans.