Verification of altered growth characteristics of different breast cancer cell types in vitro under magnetic field influence with various oncostatic drugs - 3699S04219
urn:nbn:de:0221-2009042374 BfS-RESFOR-13/09
Summary
It was the objective of this project to verify if the oncostatic effects of the pineal gland hormone melatonin and the anti-estrogenic anti-cancer drug tamoxifen are reduced by low-frequency magnetic fields. Liburdy et al. had published respective results in 1993 and 1997 which they had obtained in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7.
In order to reproducibly expose the cells to homogeneous magnetic fields of very low magnetic flux densities novel exposure-incubators were designed and constructed. Various breast cancer cell lines were used which showed very different sensitivities to melatonin, tamoxifen and low frequency electromagnetic fields.
The anti-proliferative effect of tamoxifen was reduced by low-frequency magnetic fields (50 Hz) with the effect being strongest at a magnetic flux density of 1,2 µT. In the presence of 10-9 M und 5x10-9 M melatonin the cell lines showed a reduction of the estrogen-driven proliferative response. When these growth experiments were performed at magnetic field intensities of 1.2 µT, 10 µT or 100 µT, the inhibitory effect of melatonin was clearly reduced. In summary, the results of Liburdy et al. could principally be confirmed. In addition, for magnetic field activities a so called window effect was observed, resulting in an increasing biological activity up to a magnetic flux density of 1.2 µT and a weakening at higher flux densities.
Up to now the results were only obtained for breast cancer cell lines. It has to be clarified in further studies if they can be transferred to the in-vivo situation and if therefore an impact on breast cancer patients or the population in general has to be suspected.
