Cancer therapy that fights brain tumours with electric fields brings hope to Hong Kong patients
- Optune, also known as Tumour Treating Fields, is an electrical therapy device that treats a deadly brain tumour type known as glioblastoma multiforme
- It creates an electric field around the tumour to disrupt the growth and reproduction of cancer cells in the brain
A new cancer therapy based on electrical fields, which has seen promising results in patients in the US and elsewhere, has launched in Hong Kong, bringing hope to patients suffering from a deadly brain tumour known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Optune, the name of this innovative cancer treatment, is an electrical therapy device also known as Tumour Treating Fields (TTFields).
Its introduction is the result of a collaborative effort between TTFields company Novocure in the US, and biotech firm Zai Lab in China. Novocure licensed its medical technology to the Shanghai-based company to promote TTFields in Asia, including Hong Kong and China.
Optune helps fight GBM, which is a malignant brain tumour that is the most aggressive type and difficult to treat. Patients battling this disease face a dismal prognosis: less than 5 per cent of patients survive five years after diagnosis. In Hong Kong, one or two people out of 100,000 are affected. In China, the disease afflicts 45,000 people annually.
Since September last year, Zai Lab has treated four patients in Hong Kong with this novel therapy and plans to treat patients from China too, according to the company’s CEO, Dr Samantha Du.