Trial participant Violet Horst is wearing the experimental device, which is attached to a portable battery.
A wearable device that emits low-level electrical fields can slow the progression of glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer, and extend patients’ lifespans, a major clinical trial at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and more than 80 other institutions has found.
Dr. David Schiff of the U.Va. Department of Neurology said the results of the trial have come as a “real shocker to the field,” noting that
glioblastoma is notoriously difficult to treat. “This is a tumor type that it’s been very hard to make real progress against. From the 1960s to the present, we haven’t improved the average survival by more than a few months – less than a handful of months. So anybody who’s been in the field for a while has seen a lot of bright ideas fail,” he said. “But this trial in newly diagnosed disease is a different kettle of fish. Because this trial clearly shows an improvement both in time until the tumor starts growing but more importantly in overall survival. And if you can make a difference in overall survival, you’re really doing something.”
