Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Static and Repetitive Magnetic Stimulation in Cancer Therapy: A Scoping Review

Repetitive magnetic stimulation (rMS) and static magnetic stimulation (sMS) are currently employed as adjunctive therapies for specific neurological conditions. Despite substantial advances in cancer treatment, unfavorable prognoses and outcomes persist, especially for aggressive tumors, including glioblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia. The utilization of magnetic fields has shown antitumoral benefits in both in vitro and animal studies, suggesting its potential as an efficient non-invasive therapeutic approach; nevertheless, the precise mechanisms of action remain unclear. This scoping review intended to identify published research investigating the effects of sMS and rMS in in vitro and in vivo models to evaluate their impacts on morphological and molecular parameters. Four databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus) were assessed; the search strategy was limited to the past twenty-five years of data publication. Studies utilizing rMS or sMS as a treatment for conditions other than cancers, as well as those not considering these therapies as adjunctive therapy, were eliminated. Nine articles using rMS were included: three in vitro, two employing animal models, and the remaining four including both cellular and animal-based analyses. Sixteen studies using sMS were identified: twelve in vitro, three in vivo, and one with both models. The findings show that both rMS and sMS elicit a diverse array of biological responses in cancer cells, which are very variable and greatly influenced by tumor type, stimulation frequency, magnetic field intensity, exposure length, and experimental conditions.