Abstract
Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Available treatments are associated with numerous side effects and only a low percentage of patients achieve complete remission. Therefore, there is a strong need for new therapeutic strategies. In this regard, pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy presents several potential advantages including non‐invasiveness, safety, lack of toxicity for non‐cancerous cells, and the possibility of being combined with other available therapies. Indeed, PEMF stimulation has already been used in the context of various cancer types including skin, breast, prostate, hepatocellular, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, bladder, thyroid, and colon cancer in vitro and in vivo. At present, only limited application of PEMF in cancer has been documented in humans. In this article, we review the experimental and clinical evidence of PEMF therapy discussing future perspectives in its use in oncology.
Highlights
Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide and accounted for 8.2 million deaths in 2012 [1]
We have focused on pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy, a noninvasive technique characterized by electromagnetic fields inducing microcurrents to the entire body or locally to target specific body tissues
This review aims at describing the state of the art of PEMF therapy, discussing current understanding of the underlying mechanisms and outlining future therapeutic perspectives in oncology
Summary
Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide and accounted for 8.2 million deaths in 2012 [1]. PEMFs in Oncology radiotherapy-induced side effects are dry mouth and gum sores, jaw stiffness, nausea, lymphedema, swallowing difficulties, shortness of breath, breast or nipple soreness, rectal bleeding, incontinence, bladder irritation, and pituitary dysfunction [13] Surgical techniques, such as minimally invasive surgery, result in pain, fatigue, appetite loss, swelling and bruising around the site of surgery, bleeding, infection, lymphedema, and organ dysfunction [14]. Numerous studies support the development of new treatments in oncology to be added to the traditional protocols to increase the effectiveness of available treatments, reducing side effect profile, and the patients’ quality of life [15,16,17,18] Such resources include traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, and naturopathy [19]. PEMF therapy can be used as an adjuvant treatment to chemotherapy and radiotherapy with the aim of reducing their dosage, mitigating any harmful secondary side effects, and enhancing patient’s prognosis [15, 35, 38,39,40]
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