Weak burst-firing magnetic fields that produce analgesia equivalent to morphine do not initiate activation of proliferation pathways in human breast cells in culture

Employment of a specific technology that generates point durations for physiologically patterned magnetic fields has produced reliably, robust analgesia in rodents and invertebrates that is equivalent in magnitude to clinical dosages of morphine. However morphine has been reported to facilitate oncogenesis and metastasis. To compare the treatments human breast cells were exposed to either morphine or to the analgesia-producing magnetic field pattern. Molecular assays demonstrated that both treatments affected mu-receptor opiate activity that could be blocked by classic antagonists. Whereas the morphine-treated cells displayed activation of molecular pathways that could encourage cell proliferation this profile was not observed in the magnetic-field treated cells. These results suggest that the appropriately applied magnetic field pattern could produce the desired clinical analgesia for some cancer patients but with reduced risk of facilitating metastases.