Researchers at N2CR have discovered that brief exposure to magnetic fields can reprogramme the immune landscape of solid tumours. This shifts tumour‑associated macrophages (TAMs), immune cells that normally help cancer grow, into an anti-tumour “M1” state that hunts and destroys cancer cells. Simultaneously, magnetic pulses make cancer cells more visible to the immune system, effectively “flagging” them for attack. Together, this dual action helps the body’s defences target tumours while sparing healthy tissue.

This breakthrough study, published in Smart Medicine, was led by Viresh Krishnan Sukumar (N2CR Graduate Scholar), together with co-corresponding authors Dr Alex Tai Yee Kit, A/Prof Lina Hsiu Kim Lim and A/Prof Alfredo Franco‑Obregón at NUS Medicine. Unlike current TAM‑targeting strategies that risk widespread immune activation, low‑frequency magnetic fields pass painlessly through deep tissues, offering a clinically viable, drug‑free, spatially targeted therapy. Having successfully cleared a Phase 1 human safety trial, this technology paves the way for a new era of biophysical oncology,  a breakthrough allowing clinicians to target deep-seated malignancies and turn the body’s own localised defences against cancer without systemic toxicity.

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