Author: Storch K1,2, Dickreuter E1,2, Artati A3, Adamski J3,4,5, Cordes N1,2,6,7,8
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
<sup>2</sup>Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Institute of Radiooncology, Dresden, Germany.
<sup>3</sup>Institute of Experimental Genetics, Genome Analysis Center, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
<sup>4</sup>Lehrstuhl für Experimentelle Genetik, Technische Universität München, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany.
<sup>5</sup>German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.), München-Neuherberg, Germany.
<sup>6</sup>Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
<sup>7</sup>German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Dresden, Germany.
<sup>8</sup>German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Conference/Journal: PLoS One.
Date published: 2016 Dec 13
Other:
Volume ID: 11 , Issue ID: 12 , Pages: e0167931 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167931. eCollection 2016. , Word Count: 268
Each year more than 450,000 Germans are expected to be diagnosed with cancer subsequently receiving standard multimodal therapies including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. On top, molecular-targeted agents are increasingly administered. Owing to intrinsic and acquired resistance to these therapeutic approaches, both the better molecular understanding of tumor biology and the consideration of alternative and complementary therapeutic support are warranted and open up broader and novel possibilities for therapy personalization. Particularly the latter is underpinned by the increasing utilization of non-invasive complementary and alternative medicine by the population. One investigated approach is the application of low-dose electromagnetic fields (EMF) to modulate cellular processes. A particular system is the BEMER therapy as a Physical Vascular Therapy for which a normalization of the microcirculation has been demonstrated by a low-frequency, pulsed EMF pattern. Open remains whether this EMF pattern impacts on cancer cell survival upon treatment with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and the molecular-targeted agent Cetuximab inhibiting the epidermal growth factor receptor. Using more physiological, three-dimensional, matrix-based cell culture models and cancer cell lines originating from lung, head and neck, colorectal and pancreas, we show significant changes in distinct intermediates of the glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle pathways and enhanced cancer cell radiosensitization associated with increased DNA double strand break numbers and higher levels of reactive oxygen species upon BEMER treatment relative to controls. Intriguingly, exposure of cells to the BEMER EMF pattern failed to result in sensitization to chemotherapy and Cetuximab. Further studies are necessary to better understand the mechanisms underlying the cellular alterations induced by the BEMER EMF pattern and to clarify the application areas for human disease.
PMID: 27959944 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167931