The following study was carried out for the IGOB (Internationale Gesellschaft für Onco-Bio-Therapie) over a period of 9 years. In it, a total of 608 cases of patients who had been treated by experienced IGOB therapists with ECT were closely monitored and evaluated. Depending on the case, flat or platinum needle electrodes were used.
The following documentation of the results of this study are mostly to serve the purpose of giving an overview of the worthwhile areas for application of EC therapy. In this way interested therapists and others are given a first indication in respect of the application of ECT in oncology practice.
The following illustrations show the data from the study analysed by various criteria, for example, age, gender, type of tumour, stage of illness, size of tumour, effect of therapy, and various types of cancer.
Note regarding selection of patients for the study and the ethics of the treatment in general: ECT therapy was and is used with cancer patients without classification criteria. This results in a treatment spectrum in therapeutic practice of cancer illnesses from the initial stage through to those in the final stages. Humanity as well as medical ethics forbids the therapist from refusing the therapy just because the patient doesn't fit a particular profile. Even if the cancer has already caused such a degree of damage that cure is no longer possible, everyone has a right to help even if this is only has a palliative effect and enables a dignified death. ECT makes a not infrequent contribution in this area too.
These cases of patients "beyond treatment" were not included in this study.
The data of each clinical picture are based mostly on external diagnosis, where in many cases a confirmation or extension of diagnosis was possible by Positron-Emission-Tomography. Where possible, the entry diagnosis and the final diagnosis were made based on imagery from PET.
Over the nine years various tumour types in various stages were treated with the ECT method. Platinum electrodes of 1.1mm and 0.7mm diameter and flat electrodes were used. Placing the electrodes for ECT therapy was done under clinical conditions, where a local anaesthetic was applied. The number of electrodes depended on the size of the tumour.
When using intra-tumour or peri-tumour platinum electrodes the strongest necrotisation occurred with a spacing between electrodes of 1-1.5cm, which leads to the assumption that the optimal radius of effect has a diameter of 3cm per needle electrode. When using flat electrodes, the entire organ was generously covered in order to have an effect on any metastases that were present around the periphery. As a rule, treatment was carried out at a potential difference of between 3 to 9 volts where a maximum current strength of up to 75mA was attained.
The mechanisms of ECT-therapy are based on electrolysis, electro-osmosis and electrophoresis. An extreme acidity develops at the anode (down to pH 3) and the cathode region becomes strongly alkaline (up to pH 13). This chemical transformation brings about cellular coagulation and necrotisation.