2010 Oncomagnetic Treatment Kills Glioma Cells by Inhibiting the Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain and by Inducing Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage

INTRODUCTION: A new noninvasive cancer therapeutic device developed in our laboratory, the Oncomagnetic device, involves repeated stimulation with oscillating magnetic fields (sOMF) produced by spinning permanent magnets, distinct from the FDA-approved device Optune® . METHODS: In-vitro, GBM, astroglial SVGp12 and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) cells were exposed to sOMF. Following this, mice with implanted mouse glioma cells were exposed, followed by end-stage patients. RESULTS: In-vitro, sOMF inhibited mitochondrial ETC complex-I and increased ROS levels in GBM cancer cells. Detection of g-H2AX and 53BP1 foci showed that sOMF caused significant DNA damage in GBM cells and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) cells but not in normal astroglial SVGp12 cells. GBM cells exposed to sOMF for 4-h caused cell cycle arrest in G1 phase and 30%-40% loss of surviving colonies detected by clonogenic cell survival assay, while normal SVGp12 cells were not affected. This loss of survival in GBM cells was rescued by the antioxidant Trolox. Mice with implanted mouse glioma cells in their brains showed reduction in tumor size, increased survival (p< 0.05, n = 10) and higher DNA damage (g-H2AX foci) in implanted tumor after sOMF treatment. Normal mice exposed to sOMF for 4 months had no adverse effects on the brain and other organs. In a few end-stage glioblastoma (GBM) patients, this device reversed the progression of recurrent tumor, causing a >30% reduction in contrast-enhanced volume within 4 weeks of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that sOMF stimulation has high anticancer potency comparable to low dose radiation therapy at the cellular level with an underlying mechanism of action that is substantially different from that proposed for Optune® TTF.