New Hope In Fight Against One of the Deadliest Cancers
Landmark Multi-year Study Finds Biofield Therapy Slows Pancreatic Cancer Growth and Spread
A rigorous new study reveals that biofield therapy (BT)—a non-invasive, practitioner-administered therapy also known as energy medicine—can significantly slow the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer in pre-clinical models. The findings, published in Cancer Medicine, mark one of the most comprehensive investigations to date on the biological effects of BT.Â
Conducted over four years, the preclinical study demonstrated that BT significantly reduced cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. Notably, it reduced metastasis to the liver in mouse models by more than 50% in repeated studies. The results point to its potential as a complementary treatment strategy for one of the most lethal and treatment-resistant cancers. Â
The study also showed BT triggered changes in mitochondrial structure of cancer cells (swelling and disordered structure), shifts in cell membrane bioelectric voltage potential toward hyperpolarization, and suppression of cancer-related genes, including FOXM1, a key driver of cancer growth and spread.
Biofield therapies are widely used in integrative medicine, but their biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. To ensure rigor, the team used strict experimental controls — including sham, incubator, and colony control groups — and worked with three independent biofield practitioners.
The researchers focused on pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal malignancies with 10% or less survival rate over 12 months for those with metastatic disease, because it represents a uniquely urgent challenge for medicine.
"We started with cells and animals so we could be sure there was no placebo effect,” said Dr. Lorenzo Cohen, co-lead author and Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of the world’s top cancer research institutions. “And what we saw was a consistent, meaningful reduction in tumor invasiveness and metastasis. This study shows that it’s time to further explore how complementary methods like biofield therapy work and if they have a role in cancer care.”
The preliminary BT study sets the stage for human clinical trials and deeper mechanistic exploration. “This study doesn’t answer every question—but it suggests there’s something happening between biofield therapists, the cells, and animals that science needs to better understand,” said Dr. Cohen. “This could open new doors not only for how we understand cancer and its treatment, especially in combination with standard care, but for how we approach health and healing more broadly.”
To learn more from the study investigators directly, and hear the stories behind their work, listen to [Episode 1 of the Phenomena podcast], or tune into the [Phenomena docuseries].Â
See the full study publication in Cancer Medicine here
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