Scientists may soon shock cancer out of your body with low-power electricity.

New research from Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute shows that low-intensity electrical pulse therapy could help prepare the tumor environment for the immune system to work better. Historically, high-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) has been deployed to eradicate tumor masses through targeted electrical disruption of malignant cell membranes.

Dr. Jennifer Munson, director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center, said, “Sub-ablative H-FIRE doesn’t eliminate the tumor outright, but it appears to change the rules of engagement. We’re seeing signals that may direct immune cells more effectively to the tumor site through lymphatic pathways.”