NEW YORK, NY, 8 September 2015 – Novocure announced today that more than 200 treatment centers in the United States have been certified to prescribe Optune to patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM). GBM is the most common form of malignant primary brain cancer. Approximately 12,500 patients are diagnosed each year in the United States with GBM or tumors that typically progress to GBM. Recurrent GBM is widely recognized as one of the deadliest forms of cancer and has very limited treatment options. Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy delivered by Optune is FDA-approved for recurrent GBM.
Optune is a novel anti-mitotic therapy that is available in the United States by prescription from centers whose clinical staff has been trained to use the system. Recently trained treatment centers include:
• NYU Langone Medical Center / Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center
• University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
• 21st Century Oncology, Inc.
For a complete list of certified treatment centers, please visit http://www.optune.com.
“Our goal as clinicians is to treat cancer patients with the most current and effective therapies available,” said Constantine Mantz, Chief Medical Officer, 21st Century Oncology, Inc. “I am pleased to see that this novel and effective therapy, which offers renewed hope and a better quality of life for recurrent GBM patients, is now so widely available across the United States.”
“We are proud to add to the list of esteemed treatment centers whose clinical staff has been trained to prescribe Optune for recurrent GBM,” said Pritesh Shah, US General Manager. “Novocure is dedicated to expanding the base of certified treatment centers. We believe that, as more physicians gain clinical experience, Optune has the potential to transform the standard of care for this difficult to treat disease.”
“The neuro-oncology clinic at University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center is pleased to offer Optune as a treatment option for appropriate patients with recurrent GBM,” said Larry Junck, MD, Professor of Neurology and Co-Director of the Neuro-Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Health System.
About Tumor Treating Fields Therapy
Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy is delivered by a portable, non-invasive medical device designed for continuous use by patients. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that TTFields therapy slows and reverses tumor growth by inhibiting mitosis, the process by which cells divide and replicate. TTFields therapy creates low intensity, alternating electric fields within a tumor that exert physical forces on electrically charged cellular components, preventing the normal mitotic process and causing cancer cell death.
