Effects of magnetic stimulation on tumors and immune functions

Biomagnetic stimulation is a method for stimulating tissues non-invasively by using a time-varying pulsed magnetic field. This study focused on gentle stimulus condition (0.25 T, 50% of the motor threshold) and carried out in vivo and in vitro experiments to widen the basic understanding of the effects of magnetic stimulation on tumor growth processes. The effects on immune systems by immunoassays were also clarified and the possible mechanisms of anti-tumor effects caused by magnetic stimulation were examined. Results show that the tumor weight of the stimulated group showed a significant decrease, no effects were observed in cell viabilities by the magnetic stimulation, cytokine productions of each mouse group were observed and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-/spl alpha/) productions were significantly increased in the stimulated group . IL-2 productions were also up-regulated especially in 3-day group. The study showed an anti-tumor effect and functional up-regulation of the immune system occurred by the application of repetitive magnetic stimulation. These findings show that the potential of magnetic stimulation will be useful for cancer treatment.