TTFields Together With Temozolomide and Radiotherapy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed GBM

PAST CLINICAL EXPERIENCE:

A phase III trial of Optune® (200 kHz) as monotherapy compared to active chemotherapy in recurrent glioblastoma patients showed TTFields to be equivalent to active chemotherapy in extending survival, associated with minimal toxicity, good quality of life, and activity within the brain (14% response rate). In addition, a phase III trial of Optune® combined with maintenance temozolomide compared to maintenance temozolomide alone has shown that combined therapy led to a significant improvement in both progression free survival and overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma without the addition of high grade toxicity and without decline in quality of life.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TRIAL:

All patients included in this trial are newly diagnosed GBM patients who underwent a biopsy or surgery. In addition, all patients must meet all eligibility criteria.

Eligible patients will be enrolled to receive Radiotherapy(RT)/Temozolomide/NovoTTF-200A followed by maintenance TMZ and NovoTTF-200A.

Baseline tests will be performed, The patients will be treated continuously with the device until second progression. They will possibly receive a second line treatment that can be one of the following: re-operation, local radiotherapy (gamma-knife), a second line of chemotherapy or a combination of the above.

NovoTTF-200A treatment will consist of wearing four electrically insulated electrode arrays on the head. Electrode array placement will require shaving of the scalp before and frequently during the treatment. After an initial short visit to the clinic for training and monitoring, patients will be released to continue treatment at home where they can maintain their regular daily routine.

During RT, patients will be seen twice a week and the arrays will be removed to inspect the skin condition. In addition during the trial, patients will need to return once every month to the clinic where an examination by a physician and a routine laboratory examinations will be done. These routine visits will continue for as long as the patient's disease is not progressing for the second time under the study treatment. If such occurs, patients will need to return once per month for two more months to the clinic for similar follow up examinations.

During the visits to the clinic patients will be examined physically and neurologically. Additionally, routine blood tests will be performed. A routine MRI of the head will be performed at baseline and every second month thereafter, until second progression. After this follow up plan, patients will be contacted once per month by telephone to answer basic questions about their health status.

SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND:

Electric fields exert forces on electric charges similar to the way a magnet exerts forces on metallic particles within a magnetic field. These forces cause movement and rotation of electrically charged biological building blocks, much like the alignment of metallic particles seen along the lines of force radiating outwards from a magnet.

Electric fields can also cause muscles to twitch and if strong enough may heat tissues. TTFields are alternating electric fields of low intensity. This means that they change their direction repetitively many times a second. Since they change direction very rapidly (200 thousand times a second), they do not cause muscles to twitch, nor do they have any effects on other electrically activated tissues in the body (brain, nerves and heart). Since the intensities of TTFields in the body are very low, they do not cause heating.

The breakthrough finding made by Novocure was that finely tuned alternating fields of very low intensity, now termed TTFields (Tumor Treating Fields), cause a significant slowing in the growth of cancer cells. Due to the unique geometric shape of cancer cells when they are multiplying, TTFields cause electrically-charged cellular components of these cells to change their location within the dividing cell, disrupting their normal function and ultimately leading to cell death. In addition, cancer cells also contain miniature building blocks which act as tiny motors in moving essential parts of the cells from place to place. TTFields interfere with the normal orientation of these tiny motors related to other cellular components since they are electrically-charged as well. As a result of these two effects, tumor cell division is slowed, results in cellular death or reverses after continuous exposure to TTFields.

Other cells in the body (normal healthy tissues) are affected much less than cancer cells since they multiply at a much slower rate if at all. In addition TTFields can be directed to a certain part of the body, leaving sensitive areas out of their reach. Finally, the frequency of TTFields applied to each type of cancer is specific and may not damage normally dividing cells in healthy tissues.