Tumor Treating Fields: An Innovative Therapy for Glioblastoma and Other Solid Tumors

Our plain-English summary of Tumor Treating Fields: An Innovative Therapy for Glioblastoma and Other Solid Tumors, by J.N. Serventi, H.B. Newton (Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology, 2025).

The study

• Authors: J.N. Serventi, H.B. Newton
• Journal: Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology
• Published: 2025;16(5):181-191
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy specifically disrupts cellular processes necessary for cancer cell viability and tumor progression through the delivery of electric fields from a portable medical device. Patients with solid tumors such as glioblastoma experience significantly improved overall survival when receiving TTFields therapy concomitant with other standard-of-care therapies. TTFields therapy is also well tolerated and allows patients to maintain their quality of life. It is currently approved for the treatment of newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma, pleural mesothelioma, and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Advanced practice providers (APPs), such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and other advanced oncology professionals, play key roles in the multidisciplinary team when implementing TTFields therapy. Advanced practice providers with prescribing authority can prescribe TTFields therapy after completing a one-time certification training. During the treatment decision-making process, APPs are poised to have in-depth conversations with patients and caregivers about TTFields therapy to help them grasp key concepts regarding efficacy and safety, how to properly use and integrate the device into their daily lives, cost of therapy, and how to get help using the various patient assistance programs. In addition, APPs play important roles in supporting optimal patient adherence and managing adverse events to ensure improved survival outcomes.

© 2025 BroadcastMed LLC.

In plain English

This article was a review written for advanced practice providers, such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists. It covered Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy, in which a portable generator delivers electric fields to the tumor through arrays placed on the skin. It reported no new research and did not study asbestos. The review focused mainly on glioblastoma, a brain cancer. It noted approval for pleural mesothelioma with pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy, but gave no mesothelioma results. Citing earlier trials, the authors reported two glioblastoma findings. In recurrent glioblastoma (EF-11), survival with TTFields was comparable to physician's choice of chemotherapy. In newly diagnosed glioblastoma (EF-14), 5-year survival was 13% with TTFields plus temozolomide versus 5% with temozolomide alone. Mild to moderate skin irritation was described as the most common side effect. In a cited analysis, patients who used the device the most had the longest median survival. The authors concluded that TTFields, used together with other standard-of-care therapies, has been shown to improve median overall survival with low risk of added systemic toxicity. They also concluded that advanced practice providers can educate patients and help manage treatment.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review aimed at advanced practice providers; no original data
• Who was studied: No study population of its own. The review summarized published trials, mainly in patients with glioblastoma. These included two phase III trials: EF-11 (recurrent glioblastoma) and EF-14 (newly diagnosed glioblastoma).
• Exposure: No asbestos exposure was studied. The subject was a treatment, TTFields: electric fields delivered by a portable generator through arrays placed on the skin. The article notes approval for pleural mesothelioma together with pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy.
• Main results:
  • Pleural mesothelioma is listed among the approved uses, together with pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy. No mesothelioma outcome data are given.
  • In the cited EF-11 trial in recurrent glioblastoma, TTFields gave overall and progression-free survival comparable to physician's choice of chemotherapy.
  • In the cited EF-14 trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma, 5-year survival was 13% with temozolomide plus TTFields versus 5% with temozolomide alone.
  • In EF-14, median overall survival was 20.9 months with TTFields plus temozolomide versus 16.0 months with temozolomide alone (HR, 0.63).
  • Mild to moderate skin irritation was described as the most common adverse event with TTFields.
  • Cited post-marketing surveillance data from more than 25,000 patients showed a favorable safety and tolerability profile.
  • In cited post hoc analyses of EF-14, patients with the highest device usage (more than 90%) had the greatest median progression-free and overall survival.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that TTFields has been shown to improve median overall survival with a low risk of additional systemic toxicity when used with other standard-of-care therapies. They also concluded that advanced practice providers can educate and counsel patients and caregivers about it.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that further research is needed to understand how different types of edema affect TTFields therapy in clinical practice.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), Overall Survival, Quality of Life, Pleural Mesothelioma, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Multidisciplinary Team.

Related studies

• The safety profile of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy in glioblastoma patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunts — N.A. Oberheim-Bush, W. Shi, et al. (2022)
• Prevention and Management of Dermatologic Adverse Events Associated With Tumor Treating Fields in Patients With Glioblastoma — M.E. Lacouture, M.J. Anadkat, et al. (2020)
• Tumour treating fields therapy for glioblastoma: current advances and future directions — O. Rominiyi, A. Vanderlinden, et al. (2021)
• Tumor Treating Fields dually activate STING and AIM2 inflammasomes to induce adjuvant immunity in glioblastoma — D. Chen, S.B. Le, et al. (2022)
• WT1-mRNA dendritic cell vaccination of patients with glioblastoma multiforme, malignant pleural mesothelioma, metastatic breast cancer, and other solid tumors: type 1 T-lymphocyte responses are associated with clinical outcome — Z.N. Berneman, M. De Laere, et al. (2025)
• Integration of Tumor-Treating Fields into the Multidisciplinary Management of Patients with Solid Malignancies — Y. Wang, M. Pandey, et al. (2019)

Browse return to medical research.