Optune Gio® Tumour-Treating Field Therapy
Evidence Overview
Background
- Optune Gio® is a portable, non-invasive device designed to treat glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype. Optune Gio® generates alternating electrical fields, known as tumour treating fields (TTFields), which are delivered through electrodes (called transducer arrays) attached to the scalp. TTFields work by disrupting cancer cell division and growth. The device received a Conforme Européenne (CE) mark in 2009.
- In 2024, health technology assessments (HTAs) from Canada and Switzerland concluded that TTFields plus temozolomide (TMZ) may be efficacious in terms of survival, based on evidence from the 2017 EF-14 randomised controlled trial (RCT). The RCT showed that in people with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, TTFields plus TMZ significantly improved median overall survival (20.9 versus 16 months) and progression-free survival (6.7 versus 4.0 months) compared with TMZ alone).
- The EF-14 RCT reported no statistically significant difference in the number of severe adverse events between patients treated with TTFields plus TMZ compared with those treated with TMZ alone.
- Both HTAs reported that TTFields generated health gains but at a higher cost, concluding that it is unlikely that TTFields would be cost effective at current willingness-to-pay thresholds. Guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2018 recommended against offering treatment with TTFields for newly diagnosed glioblastomas, on the basis that the treatment was not cost effective.
- Treatment with the Optune Gio® device means committing to regular head shaving and wearing the device for extended periods of time (at least 18 hours a day). Acceptance of these lifestyle changes will be influenced by a person’s values, motivation and support networks. Optune Gio® is normally administered at a patient's home, meaning that living in a remote area does not necessarily pose a barrier to access.
IMTO
Health service organisation and delivery
15 September 2025
Novocure UK Ltd.
