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Tumour treating fields therapy for glioblastoma: current advances and future directions

2020 · Benefit · Insufficient evidence

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BenefitInsufficient evidencePaper 1975

The review states that adding TTFields to standard therapy has been shown to extend survival for patients with newly diagnosed GBM, recurrent GBM, and mesothelioma, contributing to FDA clinical approval. It describes TTFields as low-intensity (1–3 V/cm), inte…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2020
Study typereview
Reported directionBenefit
Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

Tumour treating fields therapy for glioblastoma: current advances and future directions Ola Rominiyi, Aurelie Vanderlinden, Susan Jane Clenton, Caroline Bridgewater, Yahia Al-Tamimi, Spencer James Collis. Tumour treating fields therapy for glioblastoma: current advances and future directions. Br J Cancer. 2020 Nov 4. doi: 10.1038/s41416-020-01136-5. Abstract Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumour in adults and continues to portend poor survival, despite multimodal treatment using surgery and chemoradiotherapy. The addition of tumour- treating fields (TTFields)-an approach in which alternating electrical fields exert biophysical force on charged and polarisable molecules known as dipoles-to standard therapy, has been shown to extend survival for patients with newly diagnosed GBM, recurrent GBM and mesothelioma, leading to the clinical approval of this approach by the FDA. TTFields represent a non-invasive anticancer modality consisting of low-intensity (1-3 V/cm), intermediate-frequency (100-300 kHz), alternating electric fields delivered via cutaneous transducer arrays configured to provide optimal tumour-site coverage. Although TTFields were initially demonstrated to inhibit cancer cell proliferation by interfering with mitotic apparatus, it is becoming increasingly clear that TTFields show a broad mechanism of action by disrupting a multitude of biological processes, including DNA repair, cell permeability and immunological responses, to elicit therapeutic effects. This review describes advances in our current understanding of the mechanisms by which TTFields mediate anticancer effects. Additionally, we summarise the landscape of TTFields clinical trials across various cancers and consider how emerging preclinical data might inform future clinical applications for TTFields. Open access paper: nature.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typereview
Effect directionbenefit
PopulationAdults with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM); also mentions recurrent GBM and mesothelioma patients
Sample sizeNot supplied
Exposureintermediate-frequency
Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

The review states that adding TTFields to standard therapy has been shown to extend survival for patients with newly diagnosed GBM, recurrent GBM, and mesothelioma, contributing to FDA clinical approval. It describes TTFields as low-intensity (1–3 V/cm), intermediate-frequency (100–300 kHz) alternating electric fields and summarizes proposed mechanisms and the clinical trial landscape.

Outcomes measured

  • Survival (newly diagnosed GBM, recurrent GBM, mesothelioma)
  • Cancer cell proliferation/mitosis interference (mechanistic)
  • DNA repair disruption (mechanistic)
  • Cell permeability changes (mechanistic)
  • Immunological response changes (mechanistic)

Limitations

  • Narrative review; no study selection methods, risk-of-bias assessment, or quantitative synthesis described in the abstract
  • No sample sizes or effect estimates reported in the abstract
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "review",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "intermediate-frequency",
    "source": "tumour treating fields (TTFields) therapy via cutaneous transducer arrays",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Adults with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM); also mentions recurrent GBM and mesothelioma patients",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Survival (newly diagnosed GBM, recurrent GBM, mesothelioma)",
    "Cancer cell proliferation/mitosis interference (mechanistic)",
    "DNA repair disruption (mechanistic)",
    "Cell permeability changes (mechanistic)",
    "Immunological response changes (mechanistic)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "The review states that adding TTFields to standard therapy has been shown to extend survival for patients with newly diagnosed GBM, recurrent GBM, and mesothelioma, contributing to FDA clinical approval. It describes TTFields as low-intensity (1–3 V/cm), intermediate-frequency (100–300 kHz) alternating electric fields and summarizes proposed mechanisms and the clinical trial landscape.",
  "effect_direction": "benefit",
  "limitations": [
    "Narrative review; no study selection methods, risk-of-bias assessment, or quantitative synthesis described in the abstract",
    "No sample sizes or effect estimates reported in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "tumour treating fields",
    "TTFields",
    "glioblastoma",
    "GBM",
    "alternating electric fields",
    "100-300 kHz",
    "1-3 V/cm",
    "mechanism of action",
    "clinical trials",
    "survival",
    "DNA repair",
    "immunological responses"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}
AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1038/s41416-020-01136-5
PubMed: Not supplied

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