New treatment holds promise for brain cancer patients
New treatment holds promise for brain cancer patients
20 Nov 2015NovoCure announced that its lead cancer therapy improved survival rate in brain cancer patients in combination with Avastin in a late-stage study.
NovoCure's therapy, Optune, which was evaluated in combination with Roche's cancer drug, reduced the risk of death by 39% in patients, compared with patients treated with Avastin alone, according to clinical results.
Optune is an FDA-approved device for use in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of brain tumor in which 90% of adult patients die within 24 months after the diagnosis.
The portable, non-invasive device uses low-intensity electric fields to slow and even reverse tumor growth and destroy the cancer cells. Optune in combination with Merck's chemotherapy drug, temozolomide, was approved by the FDA in October to treat adult patients.
Source: Reuters