At the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research meeting earlier this year, final trial results of a new approach to treat brain tumors was published.
This new approach delivers low-intensity electric fields (tumor treating fields) to the brain through a cap that a patient wears throughout the day. A randomized trial comparing standard chemotherapy to chemotherapy plus this tumor-treating field approach, patients lived on average over 4 months longer and the risk of death was reduced 37%. This study was in patients who were initially treated with surgery followed by chemoradiation with a good response.
One of our physicians here, Dr. Ashraf is certified to prescribe Optune (www.optune.com), and we have had multiple patients already use this in hopes of controlling their aggressive brain tumors.
