Files and links (1)
Final Edits_Final_Petsche_Dissertation_2605117.31 MB
Embargoed Access, Embargo ends: 06/29/2028
Dissertation
Electromagnetic fields for targeting of metabolic vulnerabilities in non-small cell lung cancer
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Spring 2026
Abstract
A critical aspect governing cancer cell proliferation and survival is their disrupted oxidative metabolism, leading to the overproduction and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and an enhanced dependence on iron to support tumorigenesis. These adaptations provide a fundamental vulnerability within these cells that differentiates them from normal cells, making this a particularly attractive cancer cell specific target for therapeutic research. A distinct property of reactive species, ie superoxide (O2•-), nitric oxide (NO•), lipid alkoxyl radical (LO•), lipid peroxyl radical (LOO•), etc., is that they are paramagnetic. This property enables paramagnetic molecules to respond to externally applied electromagnetic fields (EMF) due to the spin states and magnetic moment of their unpaired electrons. Therefore, we hypothesize that we can leverage the use of non-ionizing EMFs to target paramagnetic species as a metabolic vulnerability in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the mechanisms by which EMFs induce anti-tumor effects in models of NSCLC. Our results demonstrate that EMFs alter ROS and labile iron handling to induce cancer cell death, making this modality an innovative potential adjuvant therapy to standard of care cancer therapy.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Electromagnetic fields for targeting of metabolic vulnerabilities in non-small cell lung cancer
- Creators
- Jennifer A. Petsche
- Contributors
- Val Sheffield (Advisor)Doug Spitz (Committee Member)Dawn Quelle (Committee Member)Renata Pereira Alambart (Committee Member)Songhai Chen (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Biomedical Science (Molecular Medicine)
- Date degree season
- Spring 2026
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xviii, 130 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2026 Jennifer A. Petsche
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 04/28/2026
- Description illustrations
- illustrations (some color)
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (page 121-130).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
Cancer of any site remains a top cause of death globally, with lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related death in the US each year- non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for 85% of those cases. As such, there is a clear need for effective, nontoxic NSCLC therapeutics that prolong patient survival. A unique vulnerability in cancer cells is their overproduction and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is already targeted by current standard therapies like chemotherapy and radiation therapy as well as experimental therapeutics. Free radical ROS are paramagnetic, so we hypothesized that non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) may selectively target the elevated levels of ROS to selectively kill cancer cells versus normal cells as wel as sensitize cells to conventional therapies. To this end, we showed that certain EMFs can be used to target ROS selectively in tumors while sparing normal tissue, making this an attractive modality for use with standard of care cancer therapy.
- Academic Unit
- Biomedical Science Program
- Record Identifier
- 9985177074002771
Metrics
1 Record Views