# Optune / Optune Pax (TTFields)

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/optune/  
OnCo record `optune` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Optune is a wearable device delivering electric fields that disrupt cell division. It is approved for glioblastoma and, in 2026, pancreatic cancer.

## Summary

Optune delivers tumour treating fields (TTFields): low-intensity alternating electric fields at 200 kHz for glioma or 150 kHz for pancreatic and lung cancer, applied through transducer arrays worn for at least 18 hours a day, which disrupt mitotic spindle assembly. Optune Gio is approved for recurrent (2011) and newly diagnosed (2015, EF-14) glioblastoma and for mesothelioma; Optune Lua for metastatic NSCLC after platinum (LUNAR, 2024); and Optune Pax, approved in Q1 2026, for unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel after PANOVA-3 showed overall survival of 16.2 versus 14.2 months. Novocure makes the devices. The pivotal trials were open-label without a sham device, and the mechanism and effect size remain contested among neuro-oncologists. For a newcomer: a wearable that uses electric fields, not drugs, to slow cell division.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Brand: Optune
- Modality: Device (tumour treating fields)
- Mechanism: 200 kHz (glioma) or 150 kHz (pancreas, lung) alternating fields via transducer arrays.
- Approvals: US 2011: Recurrent glioblastoma (newly diagnosed 2015); US 2024: Metastatic NSCLC after platinum with PD-1 or docetaxel; US 2026: Locally advanced pancreatic cancer with chemotherapy; EU 2015: CE mark (GBM); pancreatic and NSCLC CE marks 2024-26
- Dosing: Wearable transducer arrays on the skin; Continuous, at least 18 hours per day; arrays changed 2-3 times weekly

## Notes

- Pancreatic cancer, UK status: no NICE technology appraisal or medical technologies guidance for tumour treating fields in pancreatic cancer was listed on 24 September 2026. PANOVA-3 (JCO 2025): overall survival 16.2 against 14.2 months (hazard ratio 0.82; p 0.039), pain-free survival 15.2 against 9.1 months (hazard ratio 0.74), distant progression-free survival 13.9 against 11.5 months; progression-free survival, local control and response not improved; device-related skin events in 76.3 percent (grade 3 in 7.7 percent); no UK sites.

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor_treating_fields
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor_treating_fields
- Babiker et al., PANOVA-3 (JCO 2025): https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO-25-00746

## Connected records

- cancers: [Glioma & glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/glioblastoma/), [Locally advanced unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/locally-advanced-pdac/), [Mesothelioma](https://onco.cc/cancers/mesothelioma/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/), [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/)
- technologies: [Tumour treating fields (TTFields)](https://onco.cc/technologies/ttfields/)
- companies: [Novocure](https://onco.cc/companies/novocure/), [Zai Lab](https://onco.cc/companies/zai-lab/)
- trials: [A Study of NovoTTF-200T(P) in Combination With Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel for Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct05624918/), [EF-14](https://onco.cc/trials/ef-14/), [OPTIMUS PRIME: Safety and Feasibility of OPTune GIO® Integrated With MRI-gUided Laser Ablation Surgery and Pembrolizumab for Recurrent GlIoblastoMa, A randomizEd Trial](https://onco.cc/trials/nct06558214/), [PANOVA-3](https://onco.cc/trials/panova-3/), [STELLAR](https://onco.cc/trials/stellar/)
- key papers: [Tumor Treating Fields With Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Randomized, Open-Label, Pivotal Phase III PANOVA-3 Study](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-panova-3-ttfields-locally-advanced-pancreatic-jco-2025/)
- roadmaps: [Devices and physical therapies roadmap: heat and light → electric fields and focused sound → drug-releasing implants](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/devices-roadmap/), [Pancreatic cancer roadmap: from Whipple's operation to gemcitabine, FOLFIRINOX, adjuvant chemotherapy, PARP inhibition, KRAS inhibition, vaccines and the surveillance question](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/pancreatic-roadmap/)
- terms: [Pancreatic cancer drugs in England: NICE appraisals and the Cancer Drugs Fund (September 2026)](https://onco.cc/terms/pancreatic-cancer-uk-drug-access/)
- people: [Roger Stupp](https://onco.cc/people/roger-stupp/)
- bottlenecks: [The brain: barrier and sanctuary](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-brain-delivery/)
- institutions: [Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University](https://onco.cc/institutions/northwestern-lurie/), [University Hospital Zurich / Comprehensive Cancer Center Zurich](https://onco.cc/institutions/usz-zurich/)

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