NovoCure Ltd. Release: NCCN Guidelines® Recommend NovoTTF™ Therapy as a Standard Treatment Option for CNS Cancers
ST. HELIER, Jersey, Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Novocure Limited announced today that Novocure's NovoTTF Therapy has been added to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Central Nervous System Cancers. The new NCCN Guidelines® indicate that physicians consider using NovoTTF Therapy as a new option, in addition to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, for patients with glioblastoma brain tumors that recur or progress after initial treatment. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) is an alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers. The new guidelines are published online at www.nccn.org.
NovoTTF Therapy was studied in a randomized, controlled trial for patients with recurrent glioblastoma and the results were published in the European Journal of Cancer. The trial compared the efficacy and safety of NovoTTF Therapy, delivered by the NovoTTF-100A System, to physician choice active chemotherapy. The trial results demonstrated that for recurrent glioblastoma patients, NovoTTF Therapy given alone produced clinically comparable efficacy outcomes with minimal toxicity and improved quality of life compared to chemotherapy.
"We are pleased to announce that after a detailed review of the peer-reviewed literature supporting the treatment, the NCCN Guidelines Panel for CNS Cancers has recommended NovoTTF Therapy as a novel treatment modality for recurrent glioblastoma patients," said Gabe Leung, Vice Chairman of the Board and Chair of the Global Commercialization Team for Novocure. "NCCN continues to demonstrate its leadership in establishing evidence-based standards that improve the lives of cancer patients."
NovoTTF Therapy is currently available to glioblastoma patients at more than 60 leading cancer centers in the United States. Novocure will continue training physicians at additional US centers throughout 2013. Approximately 10,000 patients are diagnosed with glioblastoma each year in the United States.
"The revised NCCN Guidelines reflect the growing use of NovoTTF Therapy by neuro-oncologists in the United States to treat patients with recurrent glioblastoma effectively while affording them an improved quality of life compared to chemotherapy," said Asaf Danziger, Chief Executive Officer of Novocure. "We look forward to expanding access to NovoTTF Therapy in 2013 by training physicians at additional cancer centers."
About NovoTTF Therapy and the NovoTTF-100A System
NovoTTF Therapy is delivered by a portable, non-invasive medical device designed for continuous use throughout the day by the patient. The device has been shown in in vitro and in vivo studies to slow and reverse tumor growth by inhibiting mitosis, the process by which cells divide and replicate. The delivery system weighs about six pounds and creates a low intensity, alternating electric field within the tumor that exerts physical forces on electrically charged cellular components, preventing the normal mitotic process and causing cancer cell death prior to division. In patients with recurrent glioblastoma brain tumors, treatment with NovoTTF Therapy has been shown to provide patients with efficacy outcomes comparable to active chemotherapy with fewer side effects and a better quality of life. The NovoTTF-100A System, a NovoTTF Therapy delivery system, has received marketing approval in the US and is a CE Marked device cleared for sale in the European Union and Switzerland.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the NovoTTF-100A System for use as a treatment for adult patients (22 years of age or older) with histologically-confirmed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), following histologically or radiologically-confirmed recurrence in the supratentorial region of the brain after receiving chemotherapy. The device is intended to be used as monotherapy, and is intended as an alternative to standard medical therapy for GBM after surgical and radiation options have been exhausted.
Patients should only use the NovoTTF-100A System under the supervision of a physician properly trained in use of the device. Full prescribing information is available at www.novottftherapy.com or by calling toll free 1-855-281-9301.
About Novocure
Novocure Limited is a private Jersey Isle oncology company pioneering a novel therapy for solid tumors. Novocure's US operations are based in New York, NY and Portsmouth, NH and the company's research center is located in Haifa, Israel. For additional information about the company, please visit www.novocure.com.
About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives.
The NCCN Member Institutions are: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN; Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.
Clinicians, visit NCCN.org. Patients and caregivers, visit NCCN.com.
Contact:
Peter Melnyk
Chief Commercial Officer
(212) 767-7534
pmelnyk@novocure.com
SOURCE Novocure