Piezoelectric interaction with prostatic crystalloids may explain the relationship between environmental electromagnetic field and prostate cancer

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) may contribute to the pathogenesis of prostate cancer, but the mechanism is obscure. Numerous calcium/phosphorus crystalloids with various morphologies have been found in the normal prostate gland and in both benign and malignant prostate lesions. Their distribution within the gland is heterogeneous and diffuse. We propose that an environmental EMF may exert a piezoelectric effect on these crystalloids, resulting in simultaneous, multidirectional and diffuse compression or expansion and consequently a slight mechanical distortion of the prostate. Such distortion is known to alter gene expression in many kinds of cells and therefore cell phenotype; such alterations can suppress apoptosis. In this paper we explore the scientific and clinical evidence favoring this hypothesis and present a mathematical model of the proposed cell-mechanical effect.