{"entity":{"id":"optune","kind":"drug","name":"Optune / Optune Pax (TTFields)","aka":[],"tldr":"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.","status":"approved","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor_treating_fields","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor_treating_fields"},{"label":"Babiker et al., PANOVA-3 (JCO 2025)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO-25-00746"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["glioblastoma","pancreatic","locally-advanced-pdac","nsclc","mesothelioma"],"sections":[],"technologies":["ttfields"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["novocure"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"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."],"brand":"Optune","modality":"Device (tumour treating fields)","mechanism":"200 kHz (glioma) or 150 kHz (pancreas, lung) alternating fields via transducer arrays.","approvals":[{"region":"US","year":2011,"indication":"Recurrent glioblastoma (newly diagnosed 2015)"},{"region":"US","year":2024,"indication":"Metastatic NSCLC after platinum with PD-1 or docetaxel"},{"region":"US","year":2026,"indication":"Locally advanced pancreatic cancer with chemotherapy"},{"region":"EU","year":2015,"indication":"CE mark (GBM); pancreatic and NSCLC CE marks 2024-26"}],"mechanismSteps":["Arrays on the skin deliver alternating electric fields at 150-200 kHz","Fields penetrate tissue and act on polar molecules in dividing cells","Tubulin and septin alignment during mitosis is disrupted","Cytokinesis fails; daughter cells die or undergo immunogenic stress","Non-dividing normal cells are largely unaffected"],"dosing":{"route":"Wearable transducer arrays on the skin","schedule":"Continuous, at least 18 hours per day; arrays changed 2-3 times weekly","modifications":"Reduce wear time for skin toxicity; topical steroids","monitoring":"Skin under arrays; compliance (usage reports)","source":"https://www.optune.com"},"toxicity":[{"event":"Skin irritation under arrays","note":"EF-14: ~52% any grade, 2% grade 3"},{"event":"Headache"},{"event":"Malaise"},{"event":"Muscle twitching"}],"access":[{"country":"US","listPrice":"~$21,000 per month rental (Novocure disclosed pricing, US)","reimbursement":"Medicare covers Optune Gio for newly diagnosed glioblastoma (LCD); Optune Lua and Pax coverage evolving","asOf":"2026-09-06"},{"country":"UK","reimbursement":"NICE: not recommended for glioblastoma (2018 assessment); reassessment pending","source":"https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/published?ngt=Technology%20appraisal%20guidance","asOf":"2026-09-06"}],"regulatoryEvents":[{"date":"2011-04-08","type":"approval","region":"US","note":"PMA approval, recurrent glioblastoma","source":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/oncology-cancer-hematologic-malignancies-approval-notifications"},{"date":"2015-10-05","type":"approval","region":"US","note":"Newly diagnosed glioblastoma with temozolomide (EF-14)","source":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/oncology-cancer-hematologic-malignancies-approval-notifications"},{"date":"2019-05-23","type":"approval","region":"US","note":"Humanitarian device exemption, malignant pleural mesothelioma","source":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/oncology-cancer-hematologic-malignancies-approval-notifications"},{"date":"2024-10-15","type":"approval","region":"US","note":"Optune Lua, metastatic NSCLC after platinum (LUNAR)","source":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/oncology-cancer-hematologic-malignancies-approval-notifications"},{"date":"2026-Q1","type":"approval","region":"US","note":"Optune Pax, locally advanced pancreatic cancer with chemotherapy (PANOVA-3)","source":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/oncology-cancer-hematologic-malignancies-approval-notifications"}]},"route":"/drugs/optune/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"glioblastoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Glioma & glioblastoma","route":"/cancers/glioblastoma/"},{"id":"locally-advanced-pdac","kind":"cancer","name":"Locally advanced unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/locally-advanced-pdac/"},{"id":"mesothelioma","kind":"cancer","name":"Mesothelioma","route":"/cancers/mesothelioma/"},{"id":"nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/nsclc/"},{"id":"pancreatic","kind":"cancer","name":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/pancreatic/"}],"technology":[{"id":"ttfields","kind":"technology","name":"Tumour treating fields (TTFields)","route":"/technologies/ttfields/"}],"company":[{"id":"novocure","kind":"company","name":"Novocure","route":"/companies/novocure/"},{"id":"zai-lab","kind":"company","name":"Zai Lab","route":"/companies/zai-lab/"}],"trial":[{"id":"nct05624918","kind":"trial","name":"A Study of NovoTTF-200T(P) in Combination With Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel for Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma","route":"/trials/nct05624918/"},{"id":"ef-14","kind":"trial","name":"EF-14","route":"/trials/ef-14/"},{"id":"nct06558214","kind":"trial","name":"OPTIMUS PRIME: Safety and Feasibility of OPTune GIO® Integrated With MRI-gUided Laser Ablation Surgery and Pembrolizumab for Recurrent GlIoblastoMa, A randomizEd Trial","route":"/trials/nct06558214/"},{"id":"panova-3","kind":"trial","name":"PANOVA-3","route":"/trials/panova-3/"},{"id":"stellar","kind":"trial","name":"STELLAR","route":"/trials/stellar/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-panova-3-ttfields-locally-advanced-pancreatic-jco-2025","kind":"paper","name":"Tumor Treating Fields With Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Randomized, Open-Label, Pivotal Phase III PANOVA-3 Study","route":"/key-papers/paper-panova-3-ttfields-locally-advanced-pancreatic-jco-2025/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"devices-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Devices and physical therapies roadmap: heat and light → electric fields and focused sound → drug-releasing implants","route":"/roadmaps/devices-roadmap/"},{"id":"pancreatic-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Pancreatic cancer roadmap: from Whipple's operation to gemcitabine, FOLFIRINOX, adjuvant chemotherapy, PARP inhibition, KRAS inhibition, vaccines and the surveillance question","route":"/roadmaps/pancreatic-roadmap/"}],"term":[{"id":"pancreatic-cancer-uk-drug-access","kind":"term","name":"Pancreatic cancer drugs in England: NICE appraisals and the Cancer Drugs Fund (September 2026)","route":"/terms/pancreatic-cancer-uk-drug-access/"}],"person":[{"id":"roger-stupp","kind":"person","name":"Roger Stupp","route":"/people/roger-stupp/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-brain-delivery","kind":"bottleneck","name":"The brain: barrier and sanctuary","route":"/bottlenecks/b-brain-delivery/"}],"institution":[{"id":"northwestern-lurie","kind":"institution","name":"Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University","route":"/institutions/northwestern-lurie/"},{"id":"usz-zurich","kind":"institution","name":"University Hospital Zurich / Comprehensive Cancer Center Zurich","route":"/institutions/usz-zurich/"}]}}