Researchers at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have reportedly claimed that treating brain tumor patients with low frequency electric fields enhances their survival rate. The clinical trials had been conducted on nearly 700 subjects suffering from glioblastoma, who had undergone surgery for removing their tumors. According to authentic sources, more than 66% of patients had been treated with electric cap treatment along with chemotherapy during the clinical experiments. The rest of the patients were just treated with a regular chemotherapy drug referred to as temozolomide (Temodal).
As per data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), it was observed that the survival rate in the patients who received the electric cap treatment along with the chemotherapy was 20.9 months. In contrast, the survival rate of patients who received only chemotherapy was merely 16 months. It was also witnessed that the average duration in which the condition of the patient did not deteriorate post receiving electric cap treatment along with chemotherapy was estimated at 6.7 months, while the condition of the patients who had received only chemotherapy drug displayed deteriorating signs after just four months.
During the trials, the subjects receiving the electric cap treatment were made to wear the cap on their head for nearly eighteen hours per day for 5-day duration, between which they were provided with low intensity doses of electricity – tumor treating fields from the device for nearly twenty-eight days. The process was apparently repeated for nearly six to twelve times during the duration.
According to medical experts, the positive results derived from the trials have given a ray of hope for those researchers who have been making tremendous efforts to find a cure for glioblastoma. Healthcare service providers are of the view that the breakthroughs in the field of brain tumor research are certain to help in reducing patient sufferings.
