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. 2021 Jul 22:11:708017.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.708017. eCollection 2021.

Case Report: End-Stage Recurrent Glioblastoma Treated With a New Noninvasive Non-Contact Oncomagnetic Device

David S Baskin  1   2   3 , Martyn A Sharpe  1   2 , Lisa Nguyen  1   2 , Santosh A Helekar  1   2   3
Affiliations

Case Report: End-Stage Recurrent Glioblastoma Treated With a New Noninvasive Non-Contact Oncomagnetic Device

David S Baskin et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Alternating electric field therapy has been approved for glioblastoma (GBM). We have preclinical evidence for anticancer effects in GBM cell cultures and mouse xenografts with an oscillating magnetic field (OMF) generating device. Here we report OMF treatment of end-stage recurrent glioblastoma in a 53-year-old man who had undergone radical surgical excision and chemoradiotherapy, and experimental gene therapy for a left frontal tumor. He experienced tumor recurrence and progressive enlargement with leptomeningeal involvement. OMF for 5 weeks was well tolerated, with 31% reduction of contrast-enhanced tumor volume and reduction in abnormal T2-weighted Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery volume. Tumor shrinkage appeared to correlate with treatment dose. These findings suggest a powerful new noninvasive therapy for glioblastoma.

Keywords: compassionate use treatment; contrast enhanced tumor; magnetic resonance imaging; oscillating magnetic fields; radiation-type tumor necrosis 2.

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Conflict of interest statement

SH, MS, and DB are listed as inventors on a U.S. patent application filed by Houston Methodist Hospital for the device used in this report. The remaining author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Oncomagnetic Device. (A) Device helmet with 3 oncoscillators securely attached to it. The oncoscillators are connected to a controller box powered by a rechargeable battery. (B) The patient wearing the device helmet with three oncoscillators attached.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Change in Contrast-Enhanced Tumor Volume. (A) T1-weighted axial post-contrast scans showing the contrast-enhanced tumor (CET) highlighted with an overlayed automated computer program-generated light-yellow mask at different time points (B) Left – A graph showing the change in CET volume over time. The treatment times and durations are shown as red bars and light-yellow highlights. The long pause in treatment is shown as a light-blue highlight. Right – T1-weighted axial post-contrast scans showing CET at two levels along the dorso-ventral axis at Day 1 before treatment and Day 30 of treatment.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Variation in Enhanced Intensity Volumes in T2-FLAIR MRI Scans and Autopsy Findings. (A) Top – Bar plots of the volumes of T2-FLAIR intensity enhancement in the whole brain at different time points. Overall, there was up to 11% decrease in T2 FLAIR volume over the course of treatment. Bottom – Representative T2-FLAIR images are shown. (B) Left hemisphere of the brain, examined grossly, showing no tumor mass. (C) Photomicrographs of the left cortex showing bland necrosis, residual tumor, and microvascular proliferation with thick-walled vessels. (D) Top left – Microscopic field of the left cingulate cortex showing a focus of rarefied, perivascular inflammation. Bottom left – Cortical field showing rarefied parenchyma and residual tumor cells, enlarged with treatment-type effect that can be seen in GBM. Top right – Micrographic field of the corpus callosum showing thinned, rarefied white matter tract. Bottom right – Field showing relatively uninvolved contralateral (right) cortex. (E) Top – Micrographic field in the left cortex showing infarct-like necrosis (left), tumor (right), and fibrin thrombus (lower right). Bottom – Left cortical field showing necrotic tissue with dystrophic calcification.
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