title: An Overview of Alternating Electric Fields Therapy (NovoTTF Therapy) for the Treatment of Malignant Glioma.
abstract: As with many cancer treatments, tumor treating fields (TTFields) target rapidly dividing tumor cells. During mitosis, TTFields-exposed cells exhibit uncontrolled membrane blebbing at the onset of anaphase, resulting in aberrant mitotic exit. Based on these criteria, at least two protein complexes have been proposed as TTFields' molecular targets, including α/β-tubulin and the septin 2, 6, 7 heterotrimer. After aberrant mitotic exit, cells exhibited abnormal nuclei and signs of cellular stress, including decreased cellular proliferation and p53 dependence, and exhibit the hallmarks of immunogenic cell death, suggesting that TTFields treatment may induce an antitumor immune response. Clinical trials lead to Food and Drug Administration approval for their treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. Detailed modeling of TTFields within the brain suggests that the location of the tumor may affect treatment efficacy. These observations have a profound impact on the use of TTFields in the clinic, including what co-therapies may be best applied to boost its efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Brain Tumor Center and Neuro-Oncology Unit, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Swanson
authors.affiliation: Brain Tumor Center and Neuro-Oncology Unit, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lok
authors.affiliation: Brain Tumor Center and Neuro-Oncology Unit, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. ewong@bidmc.harvard.edu.|Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts in Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA. ewong@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Eric T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000628:therapy; D005910:Glioma / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Computer modeling; Dexamethasone; Glioblastoma; Malignant glioma; Septin; Tubulin; Tumor treating fields