Head Caps with Electrodes May Treat Brain Cancer Patients with
aggressive brain tumors may be treated with a head cap that
produces changes in electrical fields, as part of a clinical
trial at Mount Sinai. Patients with the most aggressive brain
tumors may be treated with a head cap that produces changes in
electrical fields, as part of an international clinical trial at
the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The novel portable
brain cancer treatment device, the NovoTTF-100A System, uses
electricity to disrupt the growth of glioblastomas, a highly
invasive and rapidly spreading type of brain tumor. The cap
contains insulated electrodes and is connected to a portable
power source. Worn on a patient’s scalp, which must be shaved,
it produces changing electrical fields around the tumor
site—called tumor treating fields (TTF)—that may inhibit cancer
cell growth. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most
aggressive and most common form of primary brain tumor in the
U.S. It affects approximately 10,000 Americ