Radio-wave therapy is safe for liver cancer patients and shows
improvement in overall survival, study suggests

Date:
July 30, 2021
Source:
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Summary:
Researchers have shown that a targeted therapy using non-thermal
radio waves is safe to use in the treatment of hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, according to
a new study. The therapy also showed a benefit in overall survival.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine have shown that a targeted therapy using non-thermal radio waves is safe to use in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer. The therapy also showed a benefit in overall survival.


==========================================================================
The study findings appear online in 4Open, a journal published by EDP
Sciences.

"HCC accounts for nearly 90% of all liver cancers, and current
survival rates are between six and 20 months," said Boris Pasche, M.D.,
Ph.D., chair of cancer biology and director of Wake Forest Baptist's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"Currently, there are limited treatment options for patients with this
advanced liver cancer." For the study researchers used a device called TheraBionic P1, invented by Pasche and Alexandre Barbault of TheraBionic
GmbH in Ettlingen, Germany, that works by delivering cancer-specific, amplitude-modulated radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (AM RF EMF) programmed specifically for HCC.

The frequencies used are specific to the patient's type of cancer as
identified through tumor biopsies or blood work, Pasche said.

Pasche and Barbault discovered radio frequencies for 15 different types
of cancer, as previously reported in a study published in 2009 in the
Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research.



========================================================================== TheraBionic P1 is a hand-held device that emits radio frequencies via
a spoon- shaped antenna, which is placed on the patient's tongue during treatment and is administered three times a day for one hour to deliver
low levels of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields throughout the
patient's body.

In previous studies, the device, which received breakthrough designation
from the FDA in 2019, was shown to block the growth of liver cancer
cells in the body without damaging healthy cells.

For the current study, 18 patients with advanced HCC participated and
received treatment with the device. Researchers also analyzed previously published data on 41 patients from a phase II study and historical
controls from earlier clinical trials.

"Our findings show an improvement in overall survival of more than 30%
in patients with well-preserved liver function and also in those with
more severe disease," Pasche said.

Researchers also tracked side effects, and no patients stopped TheraBionic
P1 treatment because of adverse reactions.



========================================================================== "We're encouraged by these initial findings," Pasche said. "Our study
shows a benefit in overall survival, and the treatment isn't associated
with any significant side effects." Support for this study was provided
by TheraBionic Inc. and funds from Wake Forest Baptist's Comprehensive
Cancer Center.

Pasche noted that the study does have several limitations because of the
small sample size and "selection bias inherent in the use of historical
control data." However, two additional clinical trials are underway and
are being led by William Blackstock, M.D., chair of radiation oncology at
Wake Forest Baptist's Comprehensive Cancer Center. One is a single-center
study to assess the safety and effectiveness of the TheraBionic device
in combination with Regorafenib, a chemotherapy drug, as a second-line treatment. Another multicenter, double- blind, randomized study comparing TheraBionic with placebo will assess the safety and effectiveness of
the device as a third-line therapy in the treatment of advanced HCC.

Pasche holds stock in TheraBionic Inc. and TheraBionic GmbH. He
is chairman of the board and CEO of TheraBionic Inc. and co-CEO of
TheraBionic GmbH. He is also a senior editorial board member of Life Sciences-Medicine of 4Open by EDP Sciences. These relationships are being managed per institutional policy by Wake Forest School of Medicine's
Conflict of Interest Review Committee.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Wake_Forest_Baptist_Medical_Center. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Arthur W. Blackstock, Al B. Benson, Masatoshi Kudo, Hugo Jimenez,
Preeya
F. Achari, Callum McGrath, Volker Kirchner, Lynne I. Wagner,
Nathaniel S.

O'Connell, Kathy Walker, Valerie K. Pasche, Ralph D'Agostino,
Alexandre Barbault, Boris Pasche. Safety and Efficacy of
amplitude-modulated radiofrequency electromagnetic fields
in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. 4open, 2021; 4: 3 DOI:
10.1051/fopen/2021003 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210730165445.htm

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