Cytotron tedavisi nasıl uygulanır?

Cytotron tedavisi kanser hastaları için bir kür şeklinde uygulanır Standart uygulama 28 gün boyunca günde bir saat olmak üzere toplam 28 saattir. Kimi durumlarda 14 günlük bir uygulamadan sonra 14 gün ara verilir ve daha sonra tedavi sonuçlandırılır.

Hastanın tedavi öncesinde MR ile çekilmiş görüntülerindeki tümörlerin yerleri belirlenir. Daha sonra bu bilgiler sisteme yüklenerek elektromanyetik dalgaların tümörlü bölgeye en uygun şekilde ve uygun dozda ulaşacağı ayarlamalar yapılır.

Tedavi süresince hasta hiçbirşey hissetmez. Tedavinin herhangibir yan etkisi yoktur. Ağrı kesici etkisi şaşırtıcı şekilde birkaç seans içinde ortaya çıkar. Genelde ilk hafta içinde tümör kontrol altına alınır ve daha sonra yavaş yavaş programlanmış hücre ölümü gerçekleşerek tümör küçülmeye başlar. Tedavi sonunda tümör içi boşalmış ve kurumuş bir hal almaya başlayarak küçülür.

Cytotron ile yalnızca yeri tam olarak belirlenmiş tümörler tedavi edilebilmektedir. Aynı anda sistem ençok 3 tümörü tedavi edebilmektedir. Beyin, akciğer, mide, pankreas, kolon, kemik, prostat, meme, kolon kanseri olan pekçok vaka başarıyla tedavi edilmişlerdir. Cytotron lösemi gibi vücudun geneline yayılmış olan kanser türlerinde kullanılamamaktadır.

Cytotron ve kanser tedavisi

Cytotron'da kullanılan RFQMR teknolojisinin kanserli hücrelerle başa çıkma yöntemi ise tamamen farklıdır. RFQMR yöntemi ile Radyoterapi'de uyglanan çok yüksek frekastaki yüksek enerjili iyonlaştırıcı radyasyon yerine, Radyo frekansı veya daha düşük frekanstaki düşük enerjili elektromanyetik dalgalar kullanılmaktadır.

Cytotron tedavisindeki amaç kanser hücrelerini direkt olarak yoketmek değil, hücreye aktarılan düşük miktardaki enerjinin etkisiyle hücre DNA'sının kontrolsüz çoğalma komutlarını durdurmak ve zaman için kanser hücresinin apoptosiz adı verilen kendiliğinden ölmesine sağlamaktır.

Yapılmış olan klinik çalışmalar elektromanyetik dalgaların hücre membranlarının enerji seviyesini değişirerek hücre içindeki iyonların konsantrasyonuna etki etmek dahil pekçok etki yaratabildiğini göstermiştir. Genelde bu tedavi sonrasında kanser hücrelerinin enerji değerleri düşmüş oldukları -20 mV değerlerinden sağlıklı hücrelerdeki -90 mV düzeyine kadar yükseltilmektedir. Böylelikle p53 adlı bir proteinin aktif hale getirildiği ve hücrenin kontrolsüz olarak bölünmesinin engellendiği düşünülmektedir.

Cytotron kullanılarak Hindistan'ın Bangalore şehrindeki Institute of Aerospace Medicine'da 106 terminal durumdaki Kanser hastası üzerinde 2004 ile 2005 yılı arasında bir çalışma yapılmıştır. Bu çalışmada yer alan hastaların tümü daha önce Cerrahi Müdahale, Radyoterapi veya Kemoterapi gibi mevcut tüm tedavilerin uygulandığı ancak başarılı olamadığı ve kanserin çok ileri derecede ilerlemiş olduğu hastalardır. Cytotron tedavisi sonrasında kısa süre zarfında ölmesi beklenen hastaların :

%90'ında semptomatik iyileşme görülmüştür (birkaç seans içinde ağrının azalması veya ortadan kalkması, morfin kullanımının kesilmesi, kilo kaybının durması gibi)
Hastaların çok büyük bölümünde tümör gelişimi durdurulmuş veya geriye döndürülmüştür
% 60'ı 1 yılı aşkın süredir yaşamaktadır (ölenlerin büyük bölümü daha önceki tedavilerin toksik etkileri nedeniyle oluşan komplikasyonlardan yaşamını kaybetmiştir)
%20'si normal çalışma hayatlarına geri dönmüştür

Normal olarak tamamının ölmüş olması gereken bu hastalarda Cytotron tedavisinin sağladığı sonuçlar harikadır. Geleneksel kanser tedavilerinin toksik etkilerine maruz kalmamış, bağışıklık sistemi zayıflamamış olan ve kanserin terminal safhaya ulaşmadığı hastalarda Cytotron tedavisinin çok yüksek oranda bir başarı göstereceği düşünülmektedir.

Cytotron nasıl çalışır?

RFQMR'da oluşturulan ışınları hassas bir şekilde hedef hücreye yönelten 288 tane ışın tabancası vardır. Bu ışınlar Trans Membran Potansiyelini değiştirerek Hücre Bölünmesini (Mitoz) kontrollü bir şekilde başlamasını veya durmasını sağlarlar. Hedef dokunun bulunduğu yere bağlı olarak arzu edilen ışınlama spesifikasyonları (örneğin kıkırdak kemik boşluğu, cilt kıkırdak uzaklığı, iim, cinsiyet, boy, kilo vs) sistemin bilgisayarına yüklenir. Bilgisayar daha sonra çeşitli dalga boyu ve spin frekanslarını, puls amplitüdünü, alan gücünü vs. hesaplar. Daha sonra sistem operatörü hassas bir şekilde bu ışınları ilgili bölüme yönlendirir. Bu işlem uygulamaya bağlı olarak 30 dakika ile 1 saatlik seanslar şeklinde uygulanır. Bu esnada hasta hiçbirşey hissetmez.

Bir Tümör Tedavisinde Doz Planlama

Cytotronda kullanılan teknoloji.

RFQMR Cihazı ElektroManyetik spektrumun alt bölümünde radyo frekansları veya altındaki frekanslarda yüksek güçlü çoklu-frekanslı, yüksek enerjili, dönen kuantum elektromanyetik dalga ışınları oluşturur. Bu ışınların şideti çok fazla olmadığı için doku üzerindeki etkisi ana olarak ısısal olmayan non-termal etkilerdir. Bu non-termal etkiler elektromanyetik dalgaların biyolojik hücrelerle direkt bir etkileşime girmesine neden olur. Cytotron sistemi 1 KiloHertz ile 1 MegaHertz aralığında yüksek bir anlık manyetik alanın varlığında çok hassas dozda Radyo Frekansı dalgaları oluşturur v eve daha yonra özel bir anten vasıtasıyla bu ışınlar ilgili dokuya odaklanırlar.

CARD mühendisleri yaptıkları simülasyonlarda bir biyolojik hücrenin anlık manyetik alan altında böylesi bir elektromanyetik dalgaya maruz kaldığında dinlenme anındaki Trans Membran Potansiyeli -TMP- dahil olmak üzere pekçok parametresinin değiştiğini göstermişlerdir. Sayısız hücresel aktivite TMP ile direkt olarak bağlantılıdır. TMP pekçok proteinin sentezlenmesinde önemli bir rol oynar ve hücre bölünmesi (mitoz) kontrolünün temel mekanizmasında belirleyici bir işlevi vardır. TMP değişimi karmaşık bir proses olmakla beraber değerleri kabaca aşağıdaki gibidir:

-70 to -90 mV Sağlıklı Hücrelerde.
-40 to -60 mV Enfekte Olduğunda
-20 to -30 mV Kanserde
"0" mV hücre öldüğünde.

Cytotron nedir?

Cytotron; Scalene Cybernetics şirketinin Centre for Advanced Research and Development (CARD) Bölümü tarafından geliştirilmiş olan Rotasyonal Alan Kuantum Manyetik Rezonans Cizahının -RFQMR- (Rotational Field Quantum Magnetic Resonance Device) ticari markasıdır. Bu cihaz dejeneratif veya kronik hastalıkların tedavisi amacıyla doku yenilenmesi, oarımı veya doku gelişiminin durdurulması amacıyla geliştirilmiştir. Tedaviler tamamen kansız, ağrısız ve yan etkisizdir. Yapılmış klinik çalışmalar Cytotron'un hasar görmüş bir eklemdeki kıkırdak dokusunun yenilenmesi veya kanserli bir tümörün büyümesinin durdurulup geri döndürülmesi gibi uygulamalarda etkin bir tedavi ve iyileşme sağlayabildiğini göstermektedir.

Cytotron Cancer FAQ

How many cancer patients have you treated?
The Cytotron treatment has been used on more than 300 cancer patients in multiple studies.

What exactly is Tissue Engineering?
Tissue Engineering is the field of altering, modifying, controlled reproduction and controlled regeneration and degeneration of biological tissue. Using Tissue engineering techniques, today it is possible to regenerate dying tissues and organs inside the body, grow new blood vessels, heal wounds or fix an adamant fracture, grow new cartilage or even teach a few lessons to cancerous cells that go into a multiplication spree.

How Tissue Engineering works?
Cytotron which is the world's first Rotational Field Quantum Magnetic Resonance (RFQMR) Generator to achieve this. We have the latest second generation RFQMR generator, that looks like a MRI machine, to produce high power multi frequency rotating quantum electromagnetic resonating beams from 288 special RFQMR guns with an aperture of 120 mm, that are precisely focused to the target area of repair. (The first generation RFQMR generators had only 96 guns and an aperture of 40mm.)

What are the future applications of RFQMR?
In future, RFQMR can prove effective as a non-invasive solution in the treatment of Osteoarthritis, relieving pain and disability due to trauma, temporo-mandibular joint disease, tinnitus, peridontal disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoporosis, tendonitis and convalescence following surgical repair of ligaments, fresh bone fractures in elderly, aseptic necrosis, fibromyalgia, sciatica, post-polio syndrome, migraine, metatarsalgia, acute burns, immune deficiency disorders, drug resistant epilepsy, diabetic neuropathy, herniated disk, problem wound healing, Stimulation of Angiogenic Growth Factor and promoting Coronary and peripheral pro-angiogenesis and retarding the Angiogenic Growth Factor to promote Anti-Angiogenesis in Cancer, degenerating and destroying tumors, by cellular apoptosis (programmed cell death)
Another possible application of QMR could be Electroporation. Electroporation involves directly applying QMR pulses of millionths of a second duration and field strength of 100-1500 volts per centimeter to living cells. These pulses cause nanoscopic pores to open up through the cell's membrane. When the pulse stops, the pores close again, trapping the drug or DNA inside the cell. Electroporation can be carried out by applying the QMR pulses either directly to the target tissue to be treated in a living organism, or to cell suspensions and isolated organs. This application of QMR may go a long way, as it will open up the potential for new approaches to medical problems where successful treatment depends on finding ways for the therapeutic molecules to reach the cell interior. This includes - among others - treatments such as cancer chemotherapy, the delivery of DNA for gene therapy and DNA vaccines, the delivery of drugs for treating cardiac and vascular problems as well as the treatment of the eye disease. After more studies are completed, many other potential applications such as the treatment of haemophilia and other genetic defects or the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and the prevention of atherosclerosis can be explored.

What is the Principle of RFQMR in Tissue Regeneration and Degeneration?
The cellular mechanisms and processes involved are complex, RFQMR works on the principle of altering cell membrane potential and "Jamming" the "Command and Control" of the target tissue cells, by altering the proton spin in the inside and outside the cells.

How does RFQMR work in Tissue Regeneration of the cartilage?
Like other tissues, bone and cartilage are constantly being built up and broken down by a variety of metabolic and physical influences. The major stimulus for bone and cartilage formation is a signal generated when these structures are subjected to tension or compression. This explains why bone atrophies in the absence of any significant pressure, such as weightlessness during space travel or immobilization in a cast. The transmission of this signal is also impaired following joint injury due to trauma or diseases such as osteoarthritis. QMR is designed to characterize and reproduce the required signal that initiates these regenerative activities by the induction of a spin in the hydrogen atoms thus creating a streaming potential in the extra cellular matrix (ECM) when bone or cartilage are placed under a load.
In other words, when you take a step, putting weight on the joint, the cartilage is compressed, the fluid gets displaced, and it carries with it mobile ions, the sodium ions, leaving behind the negatively charged proteoglycan carboxyl and sulfate ions. This generates an electric potential because you have "unneutralised" negative charges. This is called a streaming potential. RFQMR can recreate this streaming potential and its restorative rewards in joints impaired due to disease or trauma even though they are at rest.

How does RFQMR work in Tissue Degeneration of the tumour?
In Degenerative RFQMR, like in the application of destruction of the tumor in a cancer patient, it is thought that the chromosomes, following the messages received as a result of the variations of potential (-70 to -90mV normal, -40 to -60 when infected, -20 to -30 in cancer and 0 when dead) in the cytoplasmic membrane, activate through electromechanical effects (stress responsive), the emission of messages by the genes that regulate cell dynamics for normal cell functions or for the mitochondrial activities for ATP production.
It is supposed that the excessive production of ATP is related to an alteration of the glycoproteinic sensors present on the mitochondrion membrane with consequent lowering of the impedance that in turn does not discriminate between the signals in frequency and activates the production of ATP in an almost continual way. The cancer cell would therefore go into mitosis due to the excess of ATP. RFQMR fields are used to act on the mitochondrial membrane, increasing the impedance of the glycoproteinic sensors through the lengthening of the polyglycidic chain. The spin of the RFQMR field is used to interfere with the communications between the genes and the protoplasmic glycoproteinic complexes involved in the promotion of cell mitosis.
By this the impedance of the mitochondrial membrane to the messages coming from the genes increase with the RFQMR treatment and with increase in the malignancy (the highest impedance for undifferentiated tumors). This is related to a greater alteration of the sensors of the undifferentiated tumors and therefore to their greater predisposition to the bond with polyglycidic chains. The undifferentiated cancer cells, because of the high impedance induced on the mitochondrial membrane by the RFQMR treatment, it stops producing ATP and therefore 'possibly' enter into apoptosis. Following the treatment the differentiated cancer cells have an impedance which is still sensitive to some messages coming from the chromosomes promoting the normal production of ATP, so these cells change their state of mitosis; however, they continue to live in a quiescent state (vegetative form of life). The normal cells are not influenced by the RFQMR radiation treatment as the impedance of their mitochondrial sensors is not modified and remain sensitive to messages that arrive from the chromosomes for the activation of the ATP synthesis.

Cytotron Cancer Treatment

New non-surgical cancer treatment

RFQMR technology utilizes a totally different approach compared to conventional cancer treatments. Instead of the very high frequency ionising radiation used in radiotherapy RFQMR uses radio or sub-radio frequency, low power, non-ionising, non thermal electromagnetic waves.

The main concern of the therapy is not the immediate destruction of the cancer cells, but rather with the help of the small amount of energy provided to the cell to stop the DNA's uncontrolled mitosis, put the cell in a vegetative state and in time through apoptosis mechanism let the body get rid of the cancerous cells in a controlled fashion.

Several clinical studies show that changes in the transmembrane potential of the cells can have dramatic effects on the cell parameters including the ion concentration and more data can be obtained in the Scientific Research Section. RFQMR application helps to increase the transmembrane potential of the cancerous cells from the problematic -20 mV to the healthy -90 mV range. It is believed that the p53 proteins are activated and the uncontrolled mitosis of the cell comes to a halt by the RFQMR application.

Is the treatment painful?
No, the treatment is absolutely painless. Patients can even listen to music, see television or read during the treatment.

What does the treatment cost?
TREATMENT IS FREE TO THOSE THAT CANNOT AFFORD THE COST, you will need to travel to Bangalore India and arrange for your stay, meals and transporation during treatment. We do have accomodations available in Bangalore for $300 USD - this covers your meals and a place to stay for the 29 days of treatment.
All inclusive treatment cost in all other centers is priced by the center, please contact the center directly or email Client Service. In some cases more than one hour of treatment is required per day- if cancer exists in more than one location, in this case charges will be porportionatly more. You will have the option of having hotel, food, local transportation at a fixed additional expense, this is nice local accomodations, food and transporation. You will need to arrange for your travel to the treatment location as well as your trip home and you will need a visa.

Patients interested in treatment should plan at least 15 days in advance, you will need to complete an intake form and request a visa for entering India. The travel to and from treatment is not included in the price nor is any additional procedures requested or required during your stay. All additional charges must be met prior to departure from our facility.

What results have you had with Cytotron Cancer Care?
A phase 1 clinical study has been held at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Bangalore India between 2004 and 2006 on more than 100 terminal cancer patients. All patients were undergone all possible conventional interventions such as chemo, radiotherapy or surgery prior to RFQMR and yet the disease cannot be controlled and they are supposed to die within a few days to few months due to cancer. Out of such patients :

• There is a 90% symptomatic relief (such as ease of pain, stop using pain killers, no more weight loss etc)
• In most of the patients the tumor progression is stopped or reversed
  
• More than 60% survived more than 1 year
  
• More than 35 % went back to normal lives and living disease free for 2 years
  

As all of those patients are where terminal cases that had exausted all other treatments, the outcomes of the Cytotron therapy is outstanding. It is believed that in patients who are in a non-terminal situation (in better overall condition, with stronger immune system and has not been subject to the toxic conventional therapies with side effects) the efficacy of Cytotron will be even more pronounced.

Cancer patients get new hope, claims expert

As some 7,00,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed in India every year. An effort is being made to fight cancer with Cytotron in Punjab as is being done in Europe.

These remarks were made by Dr S.S. Sibia here today after his return from a visit to the Healthia Swiss Rehabilitation Centre in Pristina to share his experience in degenerative and regenerative tissue engineering with Cytotron. Dr Kumar, the inventor of Cytotron from Bangalore, had also accompanied Dr Sibia on the tour.

Dr Sibia, a city-based physician running a diagnostic centre here, met several cancer patients suffering both from mental and physical anguish. These patients had lost all hope before coming to the Swiss Rehabilitation Centre where they were put under the treatment with Cytotron.

Quoting a report carried by Red Herring, an American magazine, Dr Sibia cited the case of a 57-years old surgeon who was diagnosed with a deadly form of aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. Having lost all hope with the standard treatment, the victim decided to try Cytotron therapy. This treatment worked so well that he was back operating on others and now sees over 30 patients a day. He feels 80 per cent fit with no trace of any recurrence yet. According to Dr Sibia, scores of others with terminal cancer, had survived far beyond the time physicians gave them and many of them had even gone back to work. Most patients, even those on morphine, had stopped use of painkillers.

Moreover, Cytotron therapy did not have any known side effects like weakness, hair loss etc.

Cytotron, he informed, was similar to the conventional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) but functioned very differently. It attacked tumors by targeting them with electromagnetic beams and was emerging as an add-on weapon to fight cancer with no interference in other conventional treatments. Normally, 28 one-hour sessions were required. Researchers say they have treated a host of different cancers, including bone, blood, lungs, liver, pancreas, colon, mouth and breast, with the therapy.

Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, January 29

Indian radiologist spearheads cure for osteoarthritis sans surgery

Sunday November 5, 12:17 PM
By IANS

Bangalore, Nov 5 (IANS) An Indian radiologist has spearheaded clinical research to cure osteoarthritis without surgery and helped hundreds suffering from the painful condition to walk again, holding out promise of relief to the millions suffering from it.

Said to be the first of its kind in the world, the non-invasive treatment involves application of electromagnetic beams to regenerate tissues that wear and tear due to ageing.

Wing Commander (Retd) V.G. Vasishta, former head of radio diagnosis department at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) here, said the Rotational Field Quantum Magnetic Resonance (RFQMR) beam treatment on patients during clinical trials have shown remarkable results.

With growing demand, he plans to open clinics in major metros like Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata over the next six months offering the treatment, which is much cheaper than knee replacement.

Vasishta told IANS: 'As a degenerative disease caused by the loss of cartilage from load-bearing joints, especially the knees, osteoarthritis results in impairment of movement and chronic pain. Though many therapies, including newer drugs have been tried, the results have not been encouraging, forcing sufferers into expensive surgery.'

'By applying the Rotational Field Quantum Magnetic Resonance beams in the clinical trials spread over two years and covering about 500 patients, we had remarkable results in terms of relief from severe pain and regeneration of the cartilage in a natural process without side-effects.'

The RFQMR technology generates precise high intensity quantum magnetic resonance beams from 288 specially designed guns that are focused on a target tissue. The beams are delivered in the sub-radio and near-radio frequency spectrum by a computerised device called Cytotron to alter the cell membrane potential.

'Like other tissues, bone and cartilage are constantly being built-up and broken down by a variety of metabolic and physical influences. The major stimulus for bone and cartilage formation is a piezoelectric signal generated when these structures are subjected to tension or compression.

'Younger people also fall prey to osteoarthritis because of sedentary lifestyles, lack of exercise, irregular food habits, obesity and genetic disorders. Majority of the patients treated during the trials seem to have been affected due to hazardous occupations in the urban environment, coupled with static postures while watching television or using computers for long hours,' Vasishta said.

Increasing urbanisation and changing lifestyles due to growing consumerism have shown osteoarthritis becoming an epidemic in the sub-continent, with at least 15 percent of the over billion-strong Indians suffering from the painful condition.

After having successfully treated about 500 people in the age group of 40-75 years and making them walk again without surgery, Vasishta has decided to offer the treatment across the country through special clinics being set up by Cartigen Healthcare Ltd., a company co-founded by him and his associates.

The clinical trials were conducted as a pilot project after taking consent of the patients as prescribed by the Institute Ethics Committee. Their knees were exposed to the RFQMR beams for one hour everyday for three weeks. After the treatment, they were re-assessed radiologically and by other parameters set by the Knee Society.

Prior to the 21-day treatment, an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the knees is taken to plan the exact dosage and map the affected region. The beams are precisely controlled and focused on to tissues, generating streaming voltage potentials.

The electrical impulse in the joints causes forced movement of hydrogen protons and stimulates the cartilage called chondrocytes.

'The trials have demonstrated that RFQMR stimulates the chondrocytes and initiates the regeneration process, reduces pain and increases mobility of the joints, thus reversing the negative cycle,' Vasishta pointed out.

Initially, two dedicated clinics for treating osteoarthritis will become operational in Bangalore and Mumbai from Nov 15. The Cytotron RFQMR machine has been designed and developed at the Centre for Advanced Research & Development (CADR) in Bangalore.

The Switzerland-based International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection, which prescribes the safety laws for the use of RFQMR, has approved the Cytotron device for treating osteoarthritis by Cartigen.

'Keeping in view the growing demand for such non-invasive treatment, we plan to open 10-15 clinics in major metros like Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata over the next six months,' Vasishta said.

In order to make the treatment affordable and within the reach of the common man, Cartigen is keeping the cost at Rs.60,000, which is one-fourth that incurred for the replacement of both knees by surgery.

'We have set up a helpline -- 080-6451 2966 and a website -- www.cartigen.org -- to provide information and enable patients to register for the treatment. Going forward, we intend to offer the treatment even to the poor at subsidised rates,' Vasishta stated.

Vasishta joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) two decades ago as a specialist medical officer and worked at the air force hospitals in Kanpur and Jorahat earlier. He currently teaches at the Rajiv Gandhi University of Medical Sciences in Bangalore and is the only recognised guide for PhD (radiology) in Karnataka.

He has been awarded fellowships by international medical institutes such as the Lahey Medical Centre and Jefferson University in the US, the International Medical Sciences Association and the Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine.

from: Yahoo India - http://in.news.yahoo.com/061105/43/692u3.html

Cytotron Cancer Treatment entering Phase III trials soon.

This Radio Frequency Delivered In A Magnetic Field Is Actually Delivering On Its Promise

A two-year-old experimental treatment for cancer is creating an even greater buzz worldwide. It will enter Phase III trials soon...

Shailaja M.G. had begun marking time during February last year. She was a cancer patient twice over, and was not responding to any treatment. The tumour in her liver was growing despite six courses of chemotherapy, the maximum given to a patient. She was in intense pain. She could not move around. She could not eat without difficulty. She was losing hope.

Her husband G. Pampapathy, an engineer in the PWD in Hosepet near Bangalore, heard about a clinical trial on a new method of treatment for cancer being tried at the Institute for Aerospace Medicine (IAM) in Bangalore. IAM accepted only patients like Shailaja, who had not been responding to the three standard methods of cancer treatment available: surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. IAM treated her for 14 days in April, and then again in September. She has had five courses of treatment so far.

Shailaja still looks frail and somewhat sickly. But she is no longer in pain. She can eat well and move around the house doing her chores at a slow pace. She is not on painkillers or any other drug. The tumour, which has marginally decreased in size, has mysteriously stopped bothering her. It seems that the tumour no longer produces the toxic substances that squeeze and drain all cancer patients. Says Pampapathy: “In February last year, her doctor told us that she had only six months to live. Now she is recovering well.”

For three years, IAM has been trying this method on hundreds of patients. Some results were spectacular. Patients who were on their deathbeds seemingly recovered and went on with their normal lives. Some results were good; patients seemed to live slightly longer than their predicted median period of survival. Some died even before the first course of therapy was completed. The quality of life improved for almost all patients after a few days of treatment. Many patients like Shailaja are still alive. And now this experiment is entering a crucial phase. In about a year or two, we would know what really is going on.

The IAM method of treatment is so simple that few would have endowed it with any therapeutic value. It places the patient in a brief, intense magnetic field and then submits the cancerous tissue to short pulses of radiation.

This radiation is at a frequency and intensity that is not lethal to any living tissue. In fact, it is known to be harmless. We use a similar frequency in our mobile phones. Yet the cancer cells appear to react differently. They are not destroyed, but seem to sputter and stop in their tracks.

This is all we know now. The experiment is yet to produce a statistically significant result on any single cancer type, but the circumstantial evidence is so strong that IAM has decided to put the experiment through multidisciplinary analysis. Cancer surgeon D. Routray and oncopathologist Renu Madan at the Command Hospital in Bangalore are going to assist Radiologist (and principal investigator) V.G. Vasishta at IAM to remove and study tumours after treatment. Some time later, Triesta Sciences, a clinical research firm in the city, may take the tissues and try to understand the phenomenon at the molecular level. Says Vasishta: “The experimental results are encouraging enough for us to go to the next stage.”

The story of this experiment does not proceed in one dimension. It has a main plot, of treating terminally ill cancer patients, and it has several subplots as well. Each of these subplots has the potential to develop into a full story even if the main one ends prematurely. And it is not just IAM that plays a major role here. This institution came into the picture only recently, about two years ago. Before that, there was an organisation called Centre for Advanced Research and Development (CARD).

CARD is in a small building on the outskirts of Bangalore, on a dirt track near a dying lake. It is part of Scalene Cybernetics, owned mostly by engineer-physicist Rajah Vijay Kumar. Rajah set up Scalene in 1992 to develop medical equipment. The company began its life by making and selling ambulatory blood pressure monitors developed by the Hungarian firm Meditech. Scalene’s first indigenous product was a cardiovascular cartograph, an instrument to map out the blood flow in arteries. Cartograph is now installed in 24 places across hospitals in India. On paper, it has the potential to bring about a revolution in cardiac care.

This brings us to the first of our stories. At the moment, cardiologists use angiography to determine the existence and extent of coronary arterial blocks. It is a slightly risky and an expensive interventional technique. The cartograph does not show you the blocks, but shows the blood flow accurately. Since cardiologists are ultimately interested in the blood flow, this machine is purportedly an inexpensive, non-invasive technique to replace angiography. Yet clinicians have not really accepted the machine wholeheartedly. Is it vested interest or lack of faith? We do not know at the moment.

In any case, CARD is now taking the machine to developed countries, and we will know the denouement in a few years. Meanwhile, the machine gave the company revenues of around Rs 3 crore in four years. Scalene also started working on another machine, the cytotron, by 1995. Rajah’s research interests lay at the junction between electronics and biology. He had done his PhD on Osteogenesis (regeneration of bones or cartilage) using electric and magnetic fields. Lack of computing power limited the potential of this technique in those days. “The rapid increase of computing power has enhanced the potential of this method,” says Rajah.

He also thought of a few novel ideas. The most interesting one was to use the frequency band between I khz and 10 mhz. This band has never been tried in healthcare so far. He had known that many biochemical processes depended on the electric potential of the cell membrane. He deduced, using modelling and simulation, and taking cues from recent research literature, that altering the membrane potential could make a mature cell divide again. The technique was called Rotational Field Quantum Magnetic Resonance (RFQMR), and the machine was called the cytotron. Rajah teamed up with the IAM to put this idea to test.

The ability to make a mature cell divide again is of great benefit to people with degenerative diseases. IAM decided that the best way to test this hypothesis is to try it on arthritis patients whose knees have degenerated. There were serious ethical issues involved here since the radiation was at a frequency that was proven to be harmless. The experiment that started about two years ago is still continuing. Patients now queue up at IAM for this treatment (now, the waiting period is one year), as the results seem to be encouraging. Patients can walk after a week of treatment. MRIs show some regeneration of the knee after treatment. Vasishta and Rajah published the results of this experiment in the Indian Journal of Aerospace Medicine.

Promising Hope: Rajah Vijay Kumar
Here comes our second story. Is this treatment a viable alternative to knee replacement? Would doctors recommend this cheap alternative to a surgery? Just like in the case of the cartograph, we will have to wait and see. But Rajah continued to experiment. The ability to alter the membrane potential could have other uses, he reasoned. He knew that cancer cells have a particular potential, around 70 millivolts. He reasoned — again through theoretical methods — that suddenly raising it to about 100 millivolts can stun these cells. And this is what links us to our main plot.

Let’s skip the intricacies of Rajah’s hypothesis, while remembering that it is still a hypothesis. Ethics demanded that IAM take patients who were terminally ill. Of the 106 patients treated so far, more than 50 per cent are still surviving. About 20 per cent seem to have recovered completely. These results are not still good enough for the regulators. “Cancer patients often feel better for some time if they are taken off chemotherapy,” says Shekar Patil, an oncologist at the Bangalore Institute of Oncology. The experiment has thus yet to produce what is known as a statistically significant result. Which means that a significant proportion of patients of a given cancer type has to survive well beyond the median life expectancy for that cancer type. We have to wait for these statistics to be available till we pass final judgement on RFQMR.

We wouldn’t have told you this story in normal circumstances. Scientists take a discovery seriously only when it is peer-reviewed and published in a journal. To them, the IAM procedure is still an experiment that will take two or three years to yield results. There is still a lot left for the researchers to do. More patients have to be studied over longer periods of time. Clinical data has to be collected and analysed thoroughly. In particular, the tests have to produce statistically significant results for specific cancer types. The molecular basis of the changes in the cancerous tissue has to be understood. Yet there are reasons to look at the experiment now. Cancer treatment is an area where big claims are made with regularity. Most of them last only a few months, if at all. The IAM clinical trial has lasted for more than two years, and still looks promising. Yet Rajah and Vasishta are still treating it as an experiment. It deserves attention, particularly because the results are so fascinating. Terminally ill patients have a right to know the truth, and quickly too.

There are aspects of the RFQMR method that are intriguing. Cancer cells are of several types. Even the best anti-cancer drugs work only on certain types of cancer, while the cytotron seems to act on every type of cancer. This generality actually creates more doubt than hope. In fact, the machine seems to be useful in treating a variety of diseases like arthritis, cancer, macular degeneration and so on.

We mentioned earlier that the cancer treatment is only part of the story. CARD could strike it rich in ways more than one in days to come. Its cartograph could become a best-seller. Even if the cancer story falls by the wayside, cytotron could be a great way to treat osteoarthritis. And if it fails on both counts, the machine could open up other ways of looking at diseases and their treatment.

Treatment facilities are currently operating in India, Malaysia and Kosovo with new Cytotron facilities on the drawing board now.