Israeli Therapy Kills Brain Cancer Cells with Elec

http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3669 Israeli Therapy Kills Brain Cancer Cells with Electrical Fields An Israeli-developed treatment that specifically targets rapidly growing cancer cells with electrical fields shows great promise in treating patients with brain cancer. The Novo-TTF (Tumor-Treating Fields) device, invented by Technion Professor Emeritus Yoram Palti, uses electrical fields to disrupt tumor growth by interfering with cell division of cancerous cells, causing them to stop proliferating AND die off instead of dividing AND growing. Healthy brain cells rarely divide AND have different electrical properties than cancerous brain cells. This allows the device to target cancer cells without affecting the healthy cells. Early results of cell culture, animal AND early phase human trials showed that compared to historical data, the device more than doubled the median overall survival rates in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common AND aggressive type of malignant brain tumor. The findings were reported in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal article. Palti, MD, PhD, founded a company NovoCure in 2000 to develop his research in treating cancer with electrical fields. According to Palti, this is the first time that electrical fields are being used to kill cancer cells, AND it opens the door for other forms of cancer to be treated as well. “This is a new general modality for treating cancer. In a way, it’s similar to radiation; it’s physical in the same sense, but the major difference is that there are no side effects,” he told ISRAEL21c from his office at Novocure’s headquarters in Haifa. “This trial showed a big change, AND on the basis of these results, the Food AND Drug Administration has approved going on to bigger trials. So far, at least in the lab, all types of tumors have been sensitive to the treatment, so we’re hopeful that it can treat all forms of cancer,” he added. The single-arm, pilot trial of the safety AND efficacy of the Novo-TTF treatment was performed on 10 patients for a total of 280 weeks. Efficacy analysis was performed for 10 recurrent GBM patients by comparing time to tumor progression (TTP), progression-free survival (PFS) at six months, AND overall survival (OS) in recurrent GBM patients to these endpoints in historical data. “The median time for the cancer to recur after chemotherapy is around 10 weeks, AND the overall survival rate is less than six months. In our trials, we’ve more than doubled those two parameters,” said Palti. The electrical fields are delivered by means of insulated electrodes applied to the surface of the scalp. The electrodes look like bandages with wires attached. The device is powered by a small lightweight battery pack. Patients carry the Novo-TTF device in a specialized over-the-shoulder bag AND receive continuous treatment without changing their daily routine. “The novel mechanism of action of the Novo-TTF relies on the physical properties of the cancer cells, their shape AND size, rather than the chemical make-up. We believe that this distinction enables the device to stop local proliferation AND metastasis of cancer, which would explain the efficacy observed in these early findings,” said Dr. Elion Kirson, lead author AND vice president of R&D, NovoCure. Based on the positive early findings, patient enrollment has begun for a large-scale phase III clinical trial to further clarify the efficacy AND safety of the Novo-TTF in the treatment of recurrent GBM. The research is being conducted at 12 leading cancer centers across the United States AND eight centers in Europe. According to Dr. Lara Kunschner, principal investigator for the study at Allegheny General Hospital’s Allegheny Singer Research Institute in Pittsburgh, patients with GBM usually have surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, followed by radiation, chemotherapy, OR a combination of both. “We’ve kept a very low profile, until this explosion with the publication of the trial results. We’ve been avoiding the press, because you don’t want to go around saying you can cure cancer before you’re pretty sure you have something.” AND according to the preliminary results, Palti AND Novocure do seem to have something. (By David Brinn, Israel 21c, June 10, 2007) News Articles

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/24/10152?etoc

דר' ברנר, כתבת: "קרוב לוודאי שהטכניקה המתאורת לעיל נטולת תופעות לוואי ולכן כדאי יהיה להכניסה לשוק ולהציע אותה לחולי סרטן גם לפני שכל הניסויים הקליניים האורכים לעיתים 10 שנים, יצאו לפועל". מסכים איתך לחלוטין. יותר מכך, היה מאוד רצוי להשתמש בטכנולוגיה לא רק ב- GBM חוזרים, אלא כבר בקו טיפולי ראשון. בברכה, גובי