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It is reported that the number of cancer patients worldwide has increased by 10 million annually in recent years. In addition to surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and other major treatments, the medical community has been exploring new treatments for cancerous tumors.
Some researchers believe that the electromagnetic wave can achieve the therapeutic purpose by virtue of the thermal effect of non ionizing radiation physical factors. Since 1936, some people have conducted research on electromagnetic wave treatment of cancer.
At the beginning of this month, the British Cancer Journal published a new work. Scientists from Switzerland, France, Brazil and the United States published a paper saying that low-frequency electromagnetism has shown amazing results in the treatment of tumors. The results showed that the condition of some patients had improved significantly. Therefore, the “delusion” that erased cancer from the list of “incurable diseases” was mentioned again.
“Low frequency” moves have different opinions
In the study published in the British Cancer Journal, patients participating in clinical trials had a spoon shaped antenna in their mouths to introduce electromagnetic waves into their bodies. After 3 weeks of treatment, some tumors shrunk or stopped expanding, while the surrounding healthy cells were not affected. Researchers believe that low-frequency electromagnetic waves with frequencies ranging from 0.1Hz to 1.14MHz can inhibit the growth of some malignant tumors, and different frequencies correspond to different cancers.
Boris Pars, a professor at the University of Alabama Birmingham who participated in the experiment, pointed out that this method is suitable for long-term treatment and can be used in combination with other technologies. It is reported that Pace has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct clinical trials on a large number of cancer patients. Although this paper did not mention the reaction mechanism of “low-frequency electromagnetic wave treatment of cancer”, Pars said that this research is still in the initial stage and they will further explore it in the next few years.
The argument that “the electromagnetic wave emitted by mobile phones and transmission towers can cause cancer” has been heard all the time, which seems to contradict the medical effect of low-frequency electromagnetic waves. In this regard, Pace believes that the electromagnetic frequency he uses is “nothing compared to the electromagnetic frequency released by his mobile phone”, because “the former is 100 to 1000 times lower than the latter”.
Leno Barry, a researcher at the Cancer Research Center in the UK, expressed great interest in the research results. She said: “Low frequency electromagnetic at a specific frequency is effective in slowing down the growth of cancer. Although the principle of action has not been identified, it adds a vivid case of developing new therapies to inhibit cancer cells without damaging healthy cells.”
Green therapy for cancer with electromagnetic wave
During the transmission of electromagnetic wave, there will be three phenomena: reflection, penetration and thermal effect. For electromagnetic waves of different frequencies, their degree of action and effect are also different. Generally speaking, the higher the frequency, the more reflection and less penetration, and the thermal effect from the outside to the inside will be “greatly reduced”; On the contrary, the lower the frequency is, the less the reflection is and the more the penetration is, so that the thermal effect can be concentrated. In short, the electromagnetic wave frequency directly determines the penetration depth. For example, the penetration depth of 100MHz is about 6cm, while the penetration depth of 8MHz can reach 13cm.
The principle of the treatment method based on the high-energy physical quantity of non ionizing radiation such as electromagnetic wave is to use the thermal effect of electromagnetic wave to heat biological tissues, thereby killing tumor tissues or promoting tumor cell apoptosis, so as to achieve the purpose of cancer treatment. The advantage of electromagnetic wave hyperthermia is that it will not cause molecular ionization of the affected biological tissues, nor affect the atomic and molecular structures of biological tissues, so it is also known as “green treatment method”.
From the perspective of the development process, the frequency of electromagnetic wave hyperthermia is gradually “decreasing” to avoid the “twice the effort and half the result” caused by high frequency. The electromagnetic wave hyperthermia technology in China started in the 1970s. At present, the frequency of domestic electromagnetic wave tumor therapy machines is mostly 50MHz, belonging to the microwave range, with relatively ordinary functions and relatively cheap prices. The Japanese RF-8 ultrahigh speed electromagnetic wave tumor therapy machine (hereinafter referred to as “RF-8”), which is technologically advanced, can emit 8MHz electromagnetic waves, belongs to the radio frequency range, has good overall effect, and costs more than 10 million yuan. In November 2010, Dongfang Hospital affiliated to Tongji University put RF-8 into use, which is the first time to introduce and provide clinical treatment in China.
It can be seen that in the decades of treatment, tumor hyperthermia technology has made a great breakthrough, and has made remarkable achievements in thermobiological research, equipment development, clinical treatment applications and other aspects. Among them, ultra-high speed deep hyperthermia technology has gradually become an important treatment method in tumor medicine.
“Super high speed” is in the limelight
The Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China announced that the total number of cancer patients in China has exceeded 4.5 million, of which the number of malignant tumors in Shanghai has increased by 50000 annually, accounting for 1% of all residents, becoming the second leading cause of death.
According to Qin Qingliang, director of the Radiotherapy Center of Dongfang Hospital affiliated to Tongji University, the electromagnetic wave must have a penetrating depth directly to the lesion, otherwise it would be tantamount to “scratching the skin”. The 8MHZ electromagnetic wave adopted by RF-8 can convert the molecular polarity of cells to friction through the super high speed of 8 million/s, thus generating heat energy in the human body. It is characterized by a “dual” heating effect: first, the hyperthermia treatment temperature area, so that the focus temperature exceeds the critical value of 42.5 ℃, to kill tumor cells; Second, the temperature of the sub hyperthermia treatment area is maintained at about 39 ℃ to enhance the immune function of the body. When the patient is lying flat on the treatment bed, two round probes filled with water directly hit the body surface “left and right”, with two water pipes with thick fingers on the probes. When the machine starts, the electromagnetic wave emitted by the probe reaches the affected part, and the water in the water pipe circulates to take away the excess temperature to prevent scalding the body surface.
Why does high temperature only “attack” cancerous cells, but “insulate” healthy cells? Director Qin Qingliang explained that under the condition of heat, blood vessels of normal tissues expand and blood flow accelerates, which can evacuate the high temperature. On the contrary, most cancer tissues have distorted blood vessels and poor blood flow, which quickly die when heat accumulates. In the past year of “super high speed” RF-8, Dongfang Hospital has treated more than 120 patients with malignant tumors. The condition has improved significantly, and the effective rate has increased by more than 10%. Among them, an 83 year old patient with pancreatic cancer with a tumor diameter of 5cm was admitted. After 15 times of hyperthermia and radiotherapy, he has recovered.
With the rapid development of hyperthermia technology, the electromagnetic wave frequency used will be more conducive to rapid and painless treatment and rehabilitation. Director Qin Qingliang added that from super high speed to low frequency, although the same is electromagnetic wave, the nature has changed. The frequency used by British Cancer Journal has entered the field of radio wave, so the degree, depth and intensity of effect are completely different, and the therapeutic effect is also worth expecting.