(Electric Field Therapy) Treatment Options Beyond Standard Care!
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- March 26, 2020
- Reading time: 3 minutes
What Is Electric Field Therapy?
Electric field therapy generates an electric field within the body to suppress the rapid division of cancer cells in localized or lesion areas. Through this method, cancer cells can be physically disrupted and induced into apoptosis. This is the fundamental concept of cancer electric field therapy. Although a small number of normal cells — such as intestinal mucosal cells — also divide rapidly, cancer cells generally have smaller diameters than normal cells. As a result, normal cells are not damaged.
Recent Clinical Trials Using Electric Field Therapy
Pancreatic Cancer: Electric Field Therapy Doubles Progression-Free Survival!
Three abstracts on electric field therapy for pancreatic cancer were presented at the 19th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer, European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), 2017. The highlight was the PANOVA-3 trial design — a pivotal study using TTFields combined with gemcitabine and paclitaxel for locally advanced pancreatic cancer treatment.
PANOVA-3 is a prospective, randomized trial enrolling 600 patients with unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Patients must have an ECOG score of 0–2 and no prior disease progression or treatment. Patients in the experimental arm apply electric field therapy for at least 18 hours per day at 150 kHz until disease progression. Results showed that adding electric field therapy to paclitaxel and gemcitabine more than doubled both 1-year survival and progression-free survival.
Ovarian Cancer: Electric Field Therapy Doubles Progression-Free Survival!
A Phase 2 clinical trial investigated the efficacy of TTFields combined with weekly paclitaxel in recurrent ovarian cancer. This prospective, single-arm study explored the feasibility, safety, and preliminary efficacy of electric field therapy in treating recurrent ovarian cancer.
Results showed that patients receiving TTF therapy had a progression-free survival of 8.9 months, compared to 3.9 months in the control group — significantly extending patient survival.
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Dr. Miklos Pless, Medical Director of Oncology at Cantonal Hospital Winterthur, Switzerland, presented key data at the 2010 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). In a single-arm Phase 2 study conducted across four centers in Switzerland, 42 patients with locally advanced and metastatic NSCLC (Stage IIIb–IV) who had failed prior chemotherapy received 12 hours of daily TTF therapy combined with pemetrexed (Alimta) until disease progression.
Results:
- Median OS: TTF + pemetrexed: 13.8 months vs. pemetrexed alone: 8.3 months
- 1-year survival rate: Combined 57% vs. pemetrexed alone 30%
- PFS: TTF + pemetrexed more than doubled to 22–28 weeks vs. 12 weeks for pemetrexed alone
- The only reported TTF adverse event was mild to moderate skin irritation at the treatment site
- A Phase 3 clinical trial is ongoing (NCT02973789)
Malignant Mesothelioma
The STELLAR trial was a single-arm, open-label, multicenter Phase 2 trial testing electric field therapy combined with standard chemotherapy (pemetrexed plus cisplatin or carboplatin) in 80 patients with unresectable, previously untreated malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Trial results (interim analysis of 42 patients, median follow-up 11.5 months):
- 12-month survival rate: 79.7%
- Median PFS: 7.3 months
- Electric field therapy group 1-year survival: 80% vs. historical control (pemetrexed + cisplatin or carboplatin): 50%
- Electric field therapy median PFS: 7.3 months (vs. pemetrexed + cisplatin: 5.7 months)
- No device-related adverse events were reported
Based on the final STELLAR data, Novocure plans to submit a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) application to the FDA for rapid approval. Once approved, electric field therapy combined with standard chemotherapy will be available as a treatment for pleural mesothelioma in the United States.
How to Apply for Electric Field Therapy?
Currently, electric field therapy remains in the prospective research stage globally, and specialists with deep expertise in this technology are limited. Japan — a leading medical nation — has adopted TTF technology and successfully developed an electric field treatment device similar to TTF called ECCT. The comparison between TTF and ECCT devices is shown in the figure below.
How Do Cancer Patients Use Electric Field Therapy?
Treatment devices are customized for each patient based on their specific condition and tumor location. The electric field intensity is set individually for each patient. Patients do not need to go to the hospital — treatment is administered at home. CT or MRI scans are performed every 1–3 months to monitor the condition and adjust the electric field accordingly.
Electric field therapy technology was developed by Professor Warsito P. Taruno and the CTech Laboratory team at Edward Technology (IDN Patent No. REGP00201200092, 2012).
For those interested in learning more about electric field therapy, please contact us through the following channels and a specialist will assist you promptly!
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