NovoTTF-100A: a new treatment modality for recurrent glioblastoma.
NovoTTF-100A (Novocure Inc., Haifa, Israel) is a first-of-a-kind device approved by the US FDA for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. It works by emitting a low-intensity, intermediate-frequency (200 kHz), alternating electric field administered via insulated transducer arrays applied onto the scalp. The electric field penetrates the brain and inhibits the growth and proliferation of glioblastoma by interfering with tumor cell mitosis at anaphase. Results from a Phase III clinical trial indicate that the efficacy of NovoTTF-100A is equivalent to standard-of-care chemotherapy. The side effect profile favors device-treated patients, obviating typical toxicities associated with chemotherapy or targeted drugs, and results in improvements in their quality of life. NovoTTF-100A is a new modality of cancer treatment that offers equivalent efficacy, but less toxicity, to recurrent glioblastoma patients when compared with existing treatments.
Brain Tumor Center and Neuro-Oncology Unit, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Ekokobe
E
Fonkem
Eric T
ET
Wong
D000705:Anaphase; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012535:Scalp; D013810:Therapeutic Equivalency
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents