Abstract

Overview

Malignant tumor treatment continues to present significant challenges, despite ongoing advancements in medical science. One promising area of research involves pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF), which are noted for their safety and cost-effectiveness.

Findings

• Comprehensive searches of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases up to February 2021 identified relevant studies.
• Studies focused on the direct effects of PEMF on tumor cell viability using colorimetric analysis were included.
• Meta-analysis of 32 randomized controlled experiments from seven studies indicated a significant reduction in tumor cell viability in the PEMF exposure group compared to controls (SMD, -0.67; 95% CI: -1.12 to -0.22).
• Subgroup analyses revealed significant impacts in reducing epithelial cancer cell viability (SMD, -0.58; 95% CI: -0.92 to -0.23) with no significant influence on stromal tumor cells (SMD, -0.93; 95% CI: -0.21 to 0.15).

Conclusion

The findings suggest that PEMF has potential in reducing tumor cell viability, although high heterogeneity and potential risk of bias in studies indicate that these results should be interpreted with caution.