PITTSBURGH -- Glioblastoma is a very deadly form of brain cancer. It is the most aggressive form of the primary brain tumors known as gliomas.

The standard treatment has been chemotherapy and radiation.

Many patients with glioblastoma have recurrence of the disease and are usually treated with more drugs.

Now some patients at Allegheny General Hospital are getting a different treatment and it doesn't use drugs or radiation.

Until a year ago,47-year-old Tom Fink was an active guy. He was a home builder who loved his job.

That all changed suddenly.

Fink said, “I wasn't feeling well that morning. I went home and rested for a little bit. Then I had a seizure.”

Within days he was diagnosed with glioblastoma.

He had two surgeries followed by radiation and two rounds of chemotherapy, but nothing seemed to be working.

Fink said, “The tumor pretty much, in those four months time, had just grown back to the same size it was.”

Then he heard about an experimental treatment at Allegheny General Hospital.

It's called NovoCure.

Instead of drugs, a device produces an electrical field which disrupts cancer cells as they try to divide.

Dr. Lara Kunschner is a Neuro-Oncologist at AGH and Fink’s doctor .

“Instead of continuing to grow and divide, when the cells try to divide they disintegrate. It basically kills the tumor as they try to propagate themselves ," she said.

To deliver this electrical field Fink’s head is shaved and electrodes are attached.

The electrodes are plugged into a portable battery pack.

He wears the device 23 hours a day. He can unplug it to shower or swim.

Fink goes to the NovoCure clinic in Greentree two to three times a week to get his head shaved and new electrodes attached.

He said, “I really don't feel anything, That's the wonderful part of it all.”

Chemotherapy left Fink house-bound , but the only side effect from the NovoCure device is a slight warm sensation on his head.

Kunschner said, “We've been surprised at how well people feel. The lack of side effects is balanced by the inconvenience of the device.”

AGH is one of a few cities nationwide participating in phase three trials of the device.

About 60 patients are enrolled in the study right now. Half were randomly picked to use the device. The other half is getting standard chemotherapy treatment.

To be eligible for the trial a patient must have had a recurrence of the disease.

Each patient is given monthly MRIs. If it shows the tumor is growing they are taken off the experimental treatment and started on chemotherapy.

Fink will soon get his MRI to see if his tumor is being kept at bay.

If it has grown he may have to return to chemotherapy, which he is not looking forward to.

He’s always been an optimistic guy and remains one.

“I just have a rapid growing tumor that keeps coming back and we're on our way to slowing it down. You have to keep the a positive attitude.”

AGH is still accepting patients for the NovoCure study. If you’re interested call 1-877-284-2000 for more information.

LINKS:
Information on NovoCure
AGH Neuro-Oncology