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could electricity be the next treatment for brain cancer?

patients who wore a device that uses electronic field to stop cancer growth, along with standard therapy, lived an average of 30 to 50 per cent longer than those who didn't.

by chris arnold

published apr 14, 2022

3 minute read

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3 minute read

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could electricity be the next treatment for brain cancer?

the electric brain cancer treatment is delivered to the body through the optune device. getty

scientists have found that electricity can be used to prevent cancer cells in the brain from developing into tumours. research from the university of cincinnati has shown that it’s possible to prevent cells from developing into tumour cells by stunting its growth with an alternating electric field. treatment is delivered to the body through the optune device — a wearable, portable technology that attaches to the patient’s head with a series of wires and pads.

“these arrays point the electric fields at the area of the brain tumour,” kyle wang, a university of cincinnati cancer center member and assistant professor of clinical radiation oncology, said in a statement. “it’s been shown to actually improve how many people survive this disease.”

as promising as the initial reports seem, patients need to wear the optune device for a minimum of 18 hours each day, with more wear time correlating with better results. the optune device is not meant to be a replacement treatment or cure for brain cancer, wang said, adding that most patients wore the device until it was either inconvenient or ineffective.

a total of 13 people have been enrolled so far to test the optune device. but wang and the team of researchers at the university of cincinnati have plans to get at least 950 patients involved in trials.

people with glioblastoma have reason to hope

“it’s been a long time since something was invented that works for this type of disease,” wang said. “it’s really fulfilling to have patients that are looking for other options or basically reasons to have hope. i think this trial as well as the device is one of the more impactful discoveries for glioblastoma in decades.”

the u.s. food and drug administration approved the device for people with glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive form of cancer that can form in the brain or spinal cord, according to the mayo clinic. however, the fda recommends that people use the device only as a supplement to chemotherapy and radiation.

people who used the optune device in addition to “standard” treatment lived an average of 30 to 50 per cent longer than patients who did not have access to the device.

the upcoming trial, called trident, will see half of the patients use the optune device while undergoing chemo, and the other half use the device while receiving doses of radiation treatment approximately 60 to 90 days earlier than what is considered standard for radiation.

“the idea and the hope is that by having the device earlier, and with it working together with radiation and chemotherapy, it can be even more effective than it was proven to be after radiation,” wang said.

patients lived 30 to 50 per cent longer

wang also suggests that the typical side effects of standard treatments, such as hair loss, nausea, headaches, and fatigue, will not be felt. the most common side effect that has been reported so far is skin irritation, as well as difficulties with wearing the device itself.

“it takes a lot of care to figure out how to wear something 18 hours a day that has to plug into a portable electric source,” wang said. “but every patient that uses the optune device gets a designated device specialist who makes sure they have almost 24/7 access to questions about how to use this device, how to bring it with them on trips and how to continue living well using this device that’s been shown to improve survival.”

according to the brain tumour registry, glioblastoma, also known as glioblastoma multiforme, affects four per 100,000 people in canada, and that number is rising.

for more information on brain cancer and to connect with others, visit the brain tumour foundation of canada.

chris arnold is a toronto-based writer.

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could electricity be the next treatment for brain cancer?

patients who wore a device that uses electronic field to stop cancer growth, along with standard therapy, lived an average of 30 to 50 per cent longer than those who didn't.

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people with glioblastoma have reason to hope

patients lived 30 to 50 per cent longer

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could electricity be the next treatment for brain cancer?

patients who wore a device that uses electronic field to stop cancer growth, along with standard therapy, lived an average of 30 to 50 per cent longer than those who didn't.

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