WATCH: Early Clinical Insights Treating Brain Tumors Using Oncomagnetic Therapy

Houston Methodist neurosurgeon Dr. David Baskin, director of the Kenneth R. Peak Brain Tumor Center and professor of neurosurgery, recently shared early clinical insights from an emerging therapeutic platform he and his team are developing: oncomagnetics — the use of spinning, oscillating magnetic fields to selectively kill cancer cells.

In the video above, Dr. Baskin explains the approach — translated from petri dish to animal models and now into compassionate-use human treatment — and how it may represent a disruptive step forward in the management of glioblastoma, and perhaps even other difficult-to-treat cancers.

From concept to first-in-human use

In Part One of this video series, Dr. Baskin explained the compelling pre-clinical results that led him and his team to approach the FDA for permission to test this new therapy in patients. The FDA subsequently allowed expanded access compassionate use for patients who had exhausted all standard treatments, including radiation therapy, chemotherapy and, in some cases, gene therapy, a second dose of radiation or a different line of chemotherapy. As Dr. Baskin notes in the new video, "People at the end, nothing left to do. We're going to let you, case by case, try to treat these patients."

Knowing patients such as these would have highly-resistant tumors, the team's initial intent was simply to establish the safety profile of the therapy. But what they observed went far beyond safety.

Case studies showed promising early results

From a patient with four months to live and one who had nearly every poor prognostic feature imaginable to a 79-year-old patient and one who continued going to work throughout her treatment, Dr. Baskin highlights the significant, positive clinical markers seen throughout four cases.

In addition to safety, he highlights the therapy's potential effectiveness in each patient. "There was no evidence of any damage from the oncomagnetic therapy," says Dr. Baskin. Additionally, he shares imaging and pathology results to emphasize the powerful effect of the therapy on each of these patients' brain cancers.

What makes oncomagnetic therapy different?

Dr. Baskin highlights several key differences between oncomagnetic therapy and other device-based cancer treatments:

• Patient-friendly dosing: "It's only six hours a day," adds Dr. Baskin. "Some of the other treatments are up to 20 hours a day."
• No dermatologic side effects: Patients don't have to shave their head, and there is no skin irritation — which can be particularly problematic in patients who have had radiation therapy previously.
• Mechanistic precision: "It works through the electron transport chain," he explains, "...and it only kills cancer cells."

While the initial construction of the oncomagnetic helmet was clunky, the newest design is more compact, rechargeable and includes compliance-tracking technology similar to CPAP devices.

Clinical trials underway in Germany and looking beyond glioblastoma

This therapy is still limited to expanded access compassionate use in the U.S., but a clinical trial is now active at a partner site in Germany, where early participants have shown promising responses: "In one patient, we've seen very dramatic shrinkage over four weeks," says Dr. Baskin. The team also recently met with the FDA to see if a clinical trial can be initiated in the U.S.

And because the treatment mechanism leverages high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the team has also explored additional cancers in vitro, such as triple negative breast cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. "In the [petri] dish, it works. It works very powerfully," Dr. Baskin adds. "So there's a lot more that we could do. We're focusing on glioblastoma now, but we anticipate trials with devices that will fit on various body parts to treat other cancers as well."