Novocure (NSDQ:NVCR) today touted the results of a Phase II pilot trial designed to test the feasibility, safety and efficacy of its Tumor Treating Fields therapy in patients with unresectable, advanced pancreatic cancer.
The St. Helier, N.J.-based company’s Optune device uses electric fields, called Tumor Treating Fields, to disrupt cell division, inhibit tumor growth and trigger cell death in tumors.
The Panova trial included one 20-person group of TTF plus gemcitabine and one 20-person group of TTF plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. The study’s primary endpoint was safety and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival and overall survival.
People treated with TTF + gemcitabine had a median progression-free survival rate of 8.3 months and a median overall survival rate of 14.9 months, Novocure touted, compared to 3.7 months and 6.7 months, respectively, in a gemcitabine historical control.
People treated with TTF + gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel had a median progression-free survival rate of 12.7 months compared to 5.5 months in the historical control. The one-year survival rate of people treated with TTF + gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel was 72% compared to 35% in the historical control, Novocure added.
Twenty-one patients reported experiencing skin toxicity related to Novocure’s TTF product. No serious device-related adverse events were reported, according to the company.
“Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, taking the lives of more than 432,000 people worldwide each year,” principal investigator Dr. Fernando Rivera said in prepared remarks. “The results of the Panova pilot trial are promising and may provide hope to advanced pancreatic cancer patients who are in urgent need of treatment options that extend survival.”
