Phenomenology of ECT

In order to explain all the salient features of the key experimental results on ECT (viz. listed as 1. to 6. at the beginning of Section II, Phenomenology of ECT), Vijh25 proposed a detailed electrochemical mechanism in which electroosmosis of the tissue (and thence water movement from anode to cathode) and electrode reactions (thence necrosis of the tissue, pH changes etc.) play the dominant roles. In particular, he presented a model and some quantitative considerations that delineate Nordenstrom s idea of electroosmosis through the narrow interstitial channels lined with fixed charges as the mechanism of the electrochemical destruction of the tumor tissue.10 Also he examined the role of electrode reactions and other events as possible contributory factors, as follows25 in Section III.2. 

The initial pH of the tissue is around 7, i.e, neutral or nearly neutral. When the DC power is on during the ECT, there are the usual electrolysis events that cause alkalinity at the cathode and acidity at the anode viz. Eqs. (1), (2) and (2a), and related text in the Section II, Phenomenology of ECT. 

A very thorough study on the effects of direct current on dog liver has been reported by Li et al.33 and their main findings have been summarized in the beginning of Section II, Phenomenology of ECT. This work brought out clearly the salient features of ECT such as changes in pH at the anode and the cathode, dehydration of the tissue at the anodic site and oedema at the cathodic site, and, the role of the electrode reactions etc. 

Electrochemistry plays an increasingly important role in biology and medicine and the electrochemical treatment of tumors (ECT) is receiving considerable attention as a viable alternative to the more classical tumor treating approaches of surgery and chemotherapy. Dr. A. Vijh, a specialist in this area, describes both the phenomenology and the proposed physicochemical mechanisms of ECT in a comprehensive chapter. 

In addition to the main six experimental observations mentioned at the beginning of this Section, some other phenomenological features of the ECT of the cancerous tumors (e.g., grown on the rat skins) have been also noted, as follows 37... 

Phenomenology and Mechanisms of Electrochemical Treatment (ECT) of Tumors, starting from fundamentals and proceeding to electrochemical treatment of tumors in animals and then in humans... 

---