ABSTRACT
The efcacy of electrochemical therapy (EChT) in mice with implanted Jensen sarcoma tumors was reported in 1953 by Reis and Henniger.1 However, the clinical application of this modality was initiated by the Swedish radiologist, Bjorn NordenstrÖm. In 1983, he published a book in which he described his theory of biologically closed electrical circuits (BCEC) and the results of two decades of research on EChT treatment of malignancies in animals based on this theory.2 He also reported the results of EChT in 20 lung cancer patients with 26 tumors in which he used the “skinny needle” he had developed for biopsy purposes as an electrode. Follow-up after 2 to 5 years revealed that 12 tumors had either disappeared or were markedly reduced in size. This study stimulated interest in utilizing EChT for treating lung malignancies and Japanese researchers subsequently conrmed NordenstrÖm’s results in animals and in several patients.3-7
The wider application of this technique began in China after it was introduced to the country in 1987, with the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, China, at the center of this application.
