A Treatment Option For Mccain: An Electric Cap That Kills Brain Cancer Cells

One of the few treatments shown to prolong the lives of patients with brain tumors like Sen. John McCain’s is a mesh-like cap that zaps the brain with a low-level electric field. But cancer doctors have been slow to embrace it, and few patients use it.

The medical device, known as Optune and made by Novocure, was shown in a large clinical trial to prolong survival when used by patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, the type of aggressive brain tumor just found in McCain.

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