PEMF and Cancer: What Does the Research Actually Show?

 

PEMF is being researched for a huge range of potential applications, but one of the most interesting, and sensitive, area is cancer. 

 

A study published in 2024 investigated what happened when researchers exposed breast cancer cells and healthy cells to the same PEMF signal.

Interestingly, the two types of cells responded very differently.

 

Before we look at what happened, there is an important distinction to make. This was an early-stage laboratory study using cells, not a clinical trial involving people with cancer.

 

Important: PEMF is not a cure or established treatment for cancer. CELLER8 is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent cancer. The research discussed in this article was carried out on cells in a laboratory, not people. Anyone diagnosed with cancer or undergoing cancer treatment should speak to their medical team before using PEMF or another complementary wellness therapy.

 

Why Study PEMF and Cancer Cells?

 

One of the big questions in cancer research is whether it is possible to affect cancer cells while limiting effects on healthy cells.

 

This led researchers behind the 2024 study to ask an interesting question:

Would cancer cells and healthy cells respond differently when exposed to exactly the same PEMF signal?

 

To investigate, they took two different types of human breast cancer cells and compared them with normal, non-cancerous cells.

 

Both were exposed to the same PEMF programme before researchers looked at what happened to their growth, survival and behaviour.

 

What Did the Researchers Do?

 

The PEMF programme used in the experiment was:

  • Frequency: 8 Hz
  • Intensity: 11 mT (110 Gauss)
  • Waveform: Full square wave
  • Session length: 30 minutes
  • Sessions: Twice a day
  • Duration: 5 consecutive days

 

The researchers then compared the PEMF-exposed cells with cells that hadn't received the exposure.

 

And this is where things became particularly interesting.

 

What Happened to the Breast Cancer Cells?

 

Both types of breast cancer cells responded to PEMF.

 

Researchers found that the cancer cells were multiplying more slowly after PEMF exposure. They also found a reduction in the number of viable cancer cells.

Further testing showed two particularly interesting changes.

 

Some of the cancer cells underwent cell death, while others entered something called cellular senescence. Senescence sounds complicated, but the basic idea is fairly simple. A senescent cell is still alive, but it has essentially stopped dividing.

 

This is relevant to cancer research because uncontrolled cell division is a characteristic of cancer cells. Finding ways to stop that process is therefore something researchers are very interested in.

 

But there was another part of the experiment that arguably made the results even more interesting.

 

What Happened to the Healthy Cells?

 

The researchers exposed normal, non-cancerous cells to the same PEMF programme.

 

They didn't respond in the same way as the breast cancer cells. Instead of reducing their viability, PEMF exposure was associated with an increase in the viability of the normal cells used in the experiment.

 

The researchers also didn't observe the same increase in cell death or cellular senescence that they had seen in the breast cancer cells.

 

In other words, under the specific laboratory conditions used in this experiment, the cancer cells and healthy cells responded differently to the same PEMF exposure. That distinction is one of the most interesting findings from the study.

 

What Does This Mean for PEMF Research?

 

This difference between the cancer cells and healthy cells is what makes the study so interesting and gives researchers an area to explore further.

 

However, there is still a big step between what happens to cells in a laboratory and what happens inside the human body. This study was designed to explore how cells respond to PEMF, rather than to test PEMF as a cancer treatment in people.

 

So, while the findings are certainly interesting, they don't show that PEMF can treat or cure cancer. Instead, they give researchers a starting point and raise some fascinating questions for future studies.

 

Why did the cancer cells respond differently from the healthy cells? Would other types of cancer cells respond in a similar way? How important were the exact PEMF settings used? And could these findings eventually be replicated in human research?

 

For now, this study gives us a fascinating insight into how cancerous and non-cancerous cells responded differently to the same PEMF exposure under these specific laboratory conditions.

 

There is still a huge amount to learn, but research like this is exactly why we find the science surrounding PEMF so interesting, and why we'll continue following new studies as they emerge.

 

If you have been diagnosed with cancer or are undergoing cancer treatment, always speak to your oncologist or medical team before using PEMF. PEMF should never be used as a replacement for, or reason to delay, prescribed cancer treatment.

 

Want to Explore the Conversation Further?

 

We also explored the wider conversation around PEMF, integrative oncology and cancer research with Dr Henning Saupe on The PEMF Podcast.

 

In the episode, Dr Saupe discusses his approach to integrative cancer care and the different therapies and technologies being explored alongside conventional medical treatment.

 

Listen to our conversation with Dr Henning Saupe here.

 

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38473720/

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