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Wearable Device That Uses Electric Fields Gets Approval for Treating Mesothelioma, One of The Deadliest Cancers
Published May 24, 2019
Mesothelioma is a really rare form of lung cancer — but it’s also very deadly. Now, a new form of treatment has been approved by the FDA to treat it, which could be groundbreaking for people with the disease. NovoCure’s NovoTTF-100L System, a wearable medical device about the size of a backpack that uses electric fields to disrupt solid tumor cancer cell division, has been approved by the FDA for locally advanced or metastatic malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). It is the first treatment to be approved for this disease in more than 15 years.
Mesothelioma is primarily caused by asbestos exposure, which has been greatly reduced in the US due to increased home and worker safety regulations. “It’s maybe 1 or 2 percent as common as lung cancer or breast cancer, so maybe a few thousand cases a year in the United States,” Dr. Joseph Friedberg, the head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at University of Maryland School of Medicine, recently told SurvivorNet when discussing mesothelioma in general (he was not discussing NovoCure). “It’s the cancer which is, the overwhelming majority of the time, caused by asbestos.”
Dr. Freidberg also pointed out that because mesothelioma is such a rare cancer, it is often misdiagnosed as pneumonia or something similar. That means treatment is often delayed — and even when mesothelioma is treated, the survival rate is bleak. “The normal survival is typically about one to maybe two years … so it’s one of the most deadly cancers,” Dr. Friedberg said.
Before the NovoTTF-100L approval, the only FDA-approved therapy for patients with these types of mesothelioma was a combination of chemotherapy drugs called pemetrexed and cisplatin. NovoTTF-100L works by using electric fields tuned to specific frequencies that disrupt solid tumor cancer cell division. The new NovoCure system will also have to be used in combination with chemotherapy.
In a study testing the effectiveness of the new system, which had until now only been approved to treat an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, researchers found that median survival rate for people treated with the new system plus chemotherapy was 18.2 months. However, it’s important to note that only 80 people participated in the trial.
The hope of researchers with the NovoTTF-100L System is to give patients with this devastating disease another option. Mary Hesdorffer, executive director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, said that only 10 to 20% of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma are eligible for surgery to remove a tumor — so having another option is a major improvement.
“Typically, mesothelioma patients who cannot have surgery receive palliative care to mitigate their symptoms. NovoTTF-100L provides unresectable (malignant pleural mesothelioma) patients with a treatment option that may improve survival. We are encouraged by the FDA approval and hope it is just the beginning of innovation in the treatment of this aggressive disease.”
Disclosure: A founder of SurvivorNet was also an early investor and board member at NovoCure.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Mesothelioma is a really rare form of lung cancer — but it’s also very deadly. Now, a new form of treatment has been approved by the FDA to treat it, which could be groundbreaking for people with the disease. NovoCure’s NovoTTF-100L System, a wearable medical device about the size of a backpack that uses electric fields to disrupt solid tumor cancer cell division, has been approved by the FDA for locally advanced or metastatic malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). It is the first treatment to be approved for this disease in more than 15 years.
Mesothelioma is primarily caused by asbestos exposure, which has been greatly reduced in the US due to increased home and worker safety regulations. “It’s maybe 1 or 2 percent as common as lung cancer or breast cancer, so maybe a few thousand cases a year in the United States,” Dr. Joseph Friedberg, the head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at University of Maryland School of Medicine, recently told SurvivorNet when discussing mesothelioma in general (he was not discussing NovoCure). “It’s the cancer which is, the overwhelming majority of the time, caused by asbestos.”
Dr. Freidberg also pointed out that because mesothelioma is such a rare cancer, it is often misdiagnosed as pneumonia or something similar. That means treatment is often delayed — and even when mesothelioma is treated, the survival rate is bleak. “The normal survival is typically about one to maybe two years … so it’s one of the most deadly cancers,” Dr. Friedberg said.
Before the NovoTTF-100L approval, the only FDA-approved therapy for patients with these types of mesothelioma was a combination of chemotherapy drugs called pemetrexed and cisplatin. NovoTTF-100L works by using electric fields tuned to specific frequencies that disrupt solid tumor cancer cell division. The new NovoCure system will also have to be used in combination with chemotherapy.
In a study testing the effectiveness of the new system, which had until now only been approved to treat an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, researchers found that median survival rate for people treated with the new system plus chemotherapy was 18.2 months. However, it’s important to note that only 80 people participated in the trial.
The hope of researchers with the NovoTTF-100L System is to give patients with this devastating disease another option. Mary Hesdorffer, executive director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, said that only 10 to 20% of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma are eligible for surgery to remove a tumor — so having another option is a major improvement.
“Typically, mesothelioma patients who cannot have surgery receive palliative care to mitigate their symptoms. NovoTTF-100L provides unresectable (malignant pleural mesothelioma) patients with a treatment option that may improve survival. We are encouraged by the FDA approval and hope it is just the beginning of innovation in the treatment of this aggressive disease.”
Disclosure: A founder of SurvivorNet was also an early investor and board member at NovoCure.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.