NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[Lykiri]

So. Dr. Short is a Novocure proponent.

No she isn't, Arby2000.

April 2, 2022

Despite its promise, not all doctors are convinced by the available data on Optune.

Brain tumour specialist Professor Susan Short at the University of Leeds and St James’s University Hospital says: ‘The evidence about this treatment isn’t very extensive. Much of what we know is based on two trials, and many doctors would feel they needed to see more proof before backing it.’

Part of the problem is the challenge of conducting a gold-standard, double-blind clinical trial for a device like Optune.

When cancer drugs are first tested, a trial will generally involve one group of patients getting the new treatment and another getting a dummy version, or placebo. No one, not the doctors nor patients, know who’s getting which.

This is a good way to prove health improvements are actually due to the medication, and not another factor, such as positive thinking.

Prof Short says: ‘Even brain cancer patients respond to placebos in trials – they feel more positive and get more attention and more regular checks from their doctors.

‘It’s difficult to create a dummy version of something like Optune, as patients can feel when it’s turned on.

‘So it’s difficult to know just how much of what we’re seeing, in terms of better survival, is due to the device or whether there are other factors.

‘If it was obviously a major step forward, then the expense wouldn’t be such an issue. But in this case the picture isn’t so clear, so you have to look at whether it’s cost-effective.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10679311/NHS-refuses-fund-mother-twos-brain-tumour-zapper-not-cost-effective.html