WATCH: Houston Methodist Explores Novel Noninvasive Oncomagnetic Therapy for Brain Tumors

A novel noninvasive device that uses oscillating magnetic fields to selectively destroy brain tumor cells without harming healthy tissue is the subject of a new whiteboard video from Dr. David Baskin, director of the Kenneth R. Peak Brain Tumor Center at Houston Methodist Hospital.

The technology, which Baskin and his team call an "oncomagnetic device," harnesses spinning magnets to generate powerful electromagnetic fields that disrupt cancer cells' energy production.

"The spinning magnets produce an oscillating magnetic field strong enough to kill cancer cells," Dr. Baskin says. "This all started in a petri dish with cell cultures, and now it is being used on patients."

Cancer cells, he explains, rely heavily on mitochondria and the electron transport chain for energy, which inadvertently generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). Normal cells tolerate ROS by using antioxidants, but cancer cells have weaker defenses.

"Maybe we have discovered the Achilles heel of cancer, which is of course the holy grail for all cancer researchers," Dr. Baskin says in the video.

In laboratory studies, the oncomagnetic device significantly increased ROS levels inside tumor cells, triggering apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

Importantly, healthy neurons and astrocytes exposed to the same fields were unaffected.

Animal studies mirrored these results, showing dramatic tumor shrinkage in glioblastoma models and improved survival rates. Moreover, Dr. Baskin's group found that destroying tumor cells with oncomagnetic fields appeared to weaken glioblastoma's defenses against the patient's own immune system.

"Not only are we killing cells, but we're helping the immune system do the job that it so desperately wants to do," Dr. Baskin says.

Houston Methodist Research Institute's advanced imaging and molecular analysis tools allowed Dr. Baskin's team to validate these effects at both the cellular and genetic levels.

If successful in clinical trials, oncomagnetic therapy could represent a major advance for patients with glioblastoma and other intractable cancers.