How traditional Chinese acupuncture with an electric twist could help fight cancer Electrically charged acupuncture needles that can significantly reduce the size of tumours could open the way for a safe, low-cost cancer treatment, according to a new study. A team of Chinese scientists adapted the traditional technique to create a form of “electro-chemotherapy” to treat laboratory mice with brain tumours, shrinking them to less than 1 per cent of their initial size. The team, from the State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, inserted a pair of insulated needles into the heads of the mice and pierced the tumours with the charged tips – one negative and one positive.