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Novocure: Wearable Electric Therapy Increases Survival in Patients with Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma
- Tumor Treating Fields therapy demonstrates increased overall survival in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer.
- The novel therapy was safe and well tolerated.
The Latest
PANOVA-3 is a prospective, randomized, open-label, controlled Phase 3 clinical trial designed to test the efficacy and safety of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy. In the trial, TTFields was used concomitantly with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment of locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In the study, patients received TTfields alongside gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel and were compared to those who received the chemotherapy alone. TTFields demonstrated median overall survival of 16.20 months, compared to 14.16 months in the control arm. The TTField cohort survival benefit also increased over time, with 13% improvement in overall survival after one year, and 33% after two years. A total of 571 patients were enrolled in the study, randomized 1:1 and followed for a minimum of 18 months. The device therapy was well-tolerated with safety consistent with previous studies.
Physicians Perspective
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers in the world. It is the third most frequent cause of death from cancer in the United States. In recent years, the incidence and death rates for pancreatic cancer have increased. Approximately 67000 patients are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year in the U.S. The disease has a poor prognosis with a five-year survival rate of only 13%. Currently, physicians use different combinations of surgery, radiation and pharmacological therapies for treatment. However, in cases of advanced inoperable cancers, only chemotherapy with or without radiation is the only treatment option. Tumor Treating Fields are a new innovative therapy that can provide an additional option for these patients with late-stage unresectable disease.
Molecular Targets
Novocure’s Tumor Treating Fields work by delivering electric fields through pads worn over the skin that kill cancer cells. The high-frequency, electric field-based therapy aims to physically interfere with charged structures in cancer cells as they reproduce. TTFields have been shown to disrupt mitosis, interfere with cell movement and migration, enhance antitumor immunity, and downregulate DNA damage response. TTfields only target cancer cells because healthy cells have different a division rate, morphology and electrical properties.
Company History
Novocure is a global pharmaceutical company working to extend survival in aggressive cancers through development and commercialization of its innovative TTFields therapy. Future studies will examine TTFields combined with a triple regiment to treat metastatic pancreatic cancer. TTFields-powered Optune therapies have also been approved by the FDA to be used for glioblastoma and mesothelioma
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