ReviewNeuro-oncology practice2021
Tumor-Treating Fields for the treatment of glioblastoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Neuro-oncology practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of tumor treating fields on overall and progression-free survival in newly diagnosed glioblastoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurosurgical review · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of tumor treating fields (TTF) combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy only in the treatment of glioblastoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Association of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy with survival in newly diagnosed glioblastoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuro-oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Management of glioblastoma in the elderly.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Article
- Glioblastoma: epidemiology, molecular pathogenesis, diagnosis, management, and therapeutic resistance.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Review
- Glioblastoma at the crossroads: current understanding and future therapeutic horizons.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2025Review
- Recent advances in Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy for glioblastoma.The oncologist · 2025Review
- Biophysical and Biological Mechanisms of Tumor Treating Fields in Glioblastoma.Journal of cancer science and clinical therapeutics · 2024Article
- Advances in Glioblastoma Therapy: An Update on Current Approaches.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Meta-Analysis of Modulated Electro-Hyperthermia and Tumor Treating Fields in the Treatment of Glioblastomas.Cancers · 2023Review
- Effectiveness of Flattening-Filter-Free versus Flattened Beams in V79 and Glioblastoma Patient-Derived Stem-like Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Multiomics integration reveals the effect of Orexin A on glioblastoma.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Updates in IDH-Wildtype Glioblastoma.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2022Review
- Eighteen years' experience with tumor treating fields in the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme: A Retrospective Multi-Institutional Experience.Cureus · 2021Article
- Dose-enhanced versus standard TTFields for first recurrence of glioblastoma: A randomized phase 2 clinical trial.Neuro-oncology advancesArticle
- Directionally non-rotating electric field therapy delivered through implanted electrodes as a glioblastoma treatment platform: A proof-of-principle study.Neuro-oncology advancesArticle
- Tumor-treating fields dosimetry in glioblastoma: Insights into treatment planning, optimization, and dose-response relationships.Neuro-oncology advancesReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTumor-Treating Fields (TTFields) is an emerging treatment modality for glioblastoma (GBM). Studies have shown a good safety profile alongside improved efficacy in newly diagnosed GBM (ndGBM), while a less clear effect was shown for recurrent GBM (rGBM). Despite regulatory support, sectors of the neuro-oncology community have been reluctant to accept it as part of the standard treatment protocol. To establish an objective understanding of TTFields' mechanism of action, safety, efficacy, and economical implications, we conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.
methodsA systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases. Twenty studies met the pre-defined inclusion criteria, incorporating 1636 patients (542 ndGBM and 1094 rGBM), and 11 558 patients (6403 ndGBM and 5155 rGBM) analyzed for the clinical outcomes and safety endpoints, respectively.
resultsThis study demonstrated improved clinical efficacy and a good safety profile of TTFields. For ndGBM, pooled median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 21.7 (95%CI = 19.6-23.8) and 7.2 (95%CI = 6.1-8.2) months, respectively. For rGBM, pooled median OS and PFS were 10.3 (95%CI = 8.3-12.8) and 5.7 (95%CI = 2.8-10) months, respectively. Compliance of ≥75% was associated with an improved OS and the predominant adverse events were dermatologic, with a pooled prevalence of 38.4% (95%CI = 32.3-44.9). Preclinical studies demonstrated TTFields' diverse molecular mechanism of action, its potential synergistic efficacy, and suggest possible benefits for certain populations.
conclusionsThis study supports the use of TTFields for GBM, alongside the standard-of-care treatment protocol, and provides a practical summary, discussing the current clinical and preclinical aspects of the treatment and their implication on the disease course.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.