Authors' objectives: Tumor treating fields therapy (TTF) is based on a non-invasive device that uses electric fields that disrupt the rapid cell division exhibited by cancer cells. It has been approved for the treatment of glioblastoma. Low survival rates, fatal prognosis and therapeutic management limitations of glioblastoma, justify the need to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of new treatments that can improve this horizon.

Authors' recommendations: A systematic review of the literature recovered two emerging technology briefings, a good quality clinical trial (RCT), a quasi-experimental study and a case-serie. The outcome of the studies were always compared to patients who received chemotherapy. The outcomes of the RCT showed no statistical difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of overall survival (median 6.3 vs. 6.4 months), 1-year survival rate (21.9% vs. . 22.1%), progression-free survival (median 2.2 vs. 2.1 months), percentage of patients alive and progression-free at 6 months (21.4% vs. 15.1%) or in percentage radiological response (14% vs. 9.6%). The outcomes on quality of life were limited to a small number of patients. The RCT reported that there were significantly more gastrointestinal and haematological adverse events in the chemotherapy group than in the TTF group. However TTF therapy was associated with a higher rate of rashes due to electrodes. The case serie and the quasi-experimental study showed more favorable results in overall survival (median 62.2 weeks in recurrent cases and 39 months in newly diagnosed glioblastoma) and progression-free survival (median 26.1 weeks in recurrent and 155 weeks in newly diagnosed). These outcomes should be considered with caution due to the design of the studies.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: https://www.aetsa.org/publicacion/terapia-de-campo-de-tumores-en-el-tratamiento-del-glioblastoma/

Year Published: 2013

URL for published report: https://www.aetsa.org/download/publicaciones/antiguas/AETSA_2012_17_4-Glioblastoma.pdf

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Spain

Organisation Name: Andalusian Health Technology Assessment Area

Contact Address: Area de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias Sanitarias de Andalucia (AETSA) Avda. Innovación, s/n Edificio Arena 1. Sevilla (Spain) Tel. +34 955 006 309

Contact Name: aetsa.csalud@juntadeandalucia.es

Contact Email: aetsa.csalud@juntadeandalucia.es

Copyright: <p>Andalusian Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AETSA)</p>