On March 12, 2020 Novocure (NASDAQ: NVCR) reported that preclinical data on Tumor Treating Fields in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy were published in the peer-reviewed journal, Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy (Press release, NovoCure, MAR 12, 2020, View Source [SID1234555511]). The published study suggests that Tumor Treating Fields therapy can induce anticancer immune response and provide the first evidence for the immunostimulatory effects of Tumor Treating Fields-induced cell death.
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The published study evaluated whether Tumor Treating Fields-mediated cell death can elicit antitumor immunity. The data demonstrated that damage-associated molecular patterns were released in Tumor Treating Fields-treated cancer cells, and calreticulin was exposed on the cell surface. In addition, Tumor Treating Fields therapy promoted the engulfment of cancer cells by dendritic cells and dendritic cell maturation in vitro, as well as recruitment of immune cells in vivo. The combination of Tumor Treating Fields with anti-PD-1 therapy resulted in a significant decline in tumor volume and an increase in the percentage of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes in two animal tumor models.
The data demonstrated a potential therapeutic advantage for combining Tumor Treating Fields and anti-PD-1 therapy, highlighting that this combination may be a viable treatment regimen to enhance clinical outcomes. Novocure is currently testing the combination of Tumor Treating Fields with immune checkpoint inhibitors in its phase 3 pivotal LUNAR trial in patients with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer who progressed during or after platinum-based therapy.
About Tumor Treating Fields
Tumor Treating Fields is a cancer therapy that uses electric fields tuned to specific frequencies to disrupt cell division, inhibiting tumor growth and causing affected cancer cells to die. Tumor Treating Fields does not stimulate or heat tissue and targets dividing cancer cells of a specific size. Tumor Treating Fields causes minimal damage to healthy cells. Mild to moderate skin irritation is the most common side effect reported. Tumor Treating Fields is approved in certain countries for the treatment of adults with glioblastoma and in the U.S. for mesothelioma, two of the most difficult cancer types to treat. The therapy shows promise in multiple solid tumor types – including some of the most aggressive forms of cancer.