As cancerous tumors grow their continued increase in cancer cell number
becomes dependent on an increased blood supply from the surrounding host non-tumor
tissue. Tumor cancer cells furthest from the host blood supply become hypoxic and
without an increased blood supply these cancer cells become necrotic and die. The
cancer cells that become hypoxic are triggered to synthesize hypoxia inducible factor
(HIF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that is released from the hypoxic
cell to stimulate a major increase in sprouting of endothelial cells. Thus
neoangiogenesis in the tumor is apparently hypoxia driven in tumors.
Our research group found that a brief daily therapeutic electromagnetic field exposure
(TEMF) slowed breast cancer tumor growth in syngenetic mice. The optimal TEMF
exposure dose for retardation of tumors growth and angiogenesis without harmful side
effects was a 120 Hz semi-sine wave given at 15 mT for 10 minutes a day. This TEMF
therapy gave the maximum antiangiogenic effect with no noticeable side effects.
Although this TEMF slowed tumor growth it did not cause the tumors to shrink in size.
An experiment was done to find out if combining two different therapies, one targeting
angiogenesis (TEMF) and the other targeting killing of rapidly dividing cells (gamma
irradiation-IR), might have an additive tumor inhibitive effect. In short TEMF,
combined with IR proved to have a significant additive tumor inhibiting effect and
TEMF was judged to be a safe effective adjunct to IR therapy.
Keywords: Angiogenesis, Antiangiogenic therapy, Blood vessels, Blood vessel
marker CD 31, Breast cancer, Electromagnetic field therapy, Endothelial cells,
Gamma irradiation, Hypoxia, Hypoxia inducible factor, Metastasis, Morphometric
analysis, Tumorous cancer, Tumor growth, Tumor structure.
