A New Device for Treating the Brain Tumor Glioblastoma Multiforme: Optune

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of a system called Optune for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a type of brain tumor, in both newly diagnosed patients and those whose disease has recurred.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common type of primary brain tumor in adults. Survival in this disease is unsatisfactory despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy and medical treatments. In this article, we discuss a device shown to prolong survival in GBM through electric field treatment.

Previously the NovoTTF-100A System was another name for Optune, which first received FDA approval in 2011 for the treatment of patients with GBM whose disease progressed or recurred after treatment.

However, in a noteworthy development in oncology in recent months, the Optune system also received FDA approval for newly diagnosed patients with GBM. This device was permitted to be used together with the chemotherapy drug temozolomide (TMZ), which is the standard initial treatment.

The Optune system is a new treatment option for this difficult and aggressive brain cancer. Although this treatment cannot completely eliminate the disease, it has been shown to significantly prolong survival.

Optune is a portable, noninvasive device delivering low-intensity, intermediate-frequency alternating electric current that inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells in the brain (anti-mitotic) and causes their death without damaging healthy brain tissue. Electrodes are placed directly on the skull to target the tumor, and their placement is determined according to each patient’s magnetic resonance imaging results to increase the treatment’s effect on the tumor.

In research on the device, some of 695 patients newly diagnosed with GBM received Optune together with temozolomide, while others received temozolomide alone. The analysis showed that using the Optune system together with TMZ contributed approximately 3 months to survival.

In a disease such as GBM, for which we have few treatment options, Optune emerges as a new drug-free treatment method that can prolong the patient’s life from the beginning of treatment.

Optune is a portable device, and can run on batteries or electricity. This makes it easier for patients receiving ongoing treatment to continue their normal daily activities.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautions that Optune should be used more as an adjunctive treatment rather than as standard treatment in newly diagnosed patients.

The most common adverse effect of Optune use is skin irritation. In addition, among patients participating in the studies, neurological adverse effects such as headache occurred more often in patients receiving Optune together with temozolomide than in those using temozolomide alone.

However, this device is not yet covered by reimbursement in our country. We will closely follow developments on this subject and share them with you if approval is obtained.