Patent ID: 7565205

Claim:
A method of selectively destroying or inhibiting the growth of rapidly dividing cells located within a target region of a patient, comprising the steps of: imposing an AC electric field in the target region of the patient, wherein the electric field has a first orientation during a first interval of time and a second orientation during a second interval of time, wherein at least a portion of the first interval of time and the second interval of time are mutually exclusive, wherein the electric field has frequency characteristics that correspond to a vulnerability of the rapidly dividing cells, wherein the electric field is strong enough to damage, during the late anaphase or telophase stages of cell division, a significant portion of the rapidly dividing cells whose long axis is generally aligned with the lines of force of the electric field, and wherein the electric field leaves non-dividing cells located within the target region substantially unchanged; and repeating the imposing step until a therapeutically significant portion of the rapidly dividing cells die.