METIS Phase 3 Trial Outcomes: NSCLC Brain Metastasis Treatment at ASCO 2024

Novocure Ltd., a company listed on NASDAQ with the ticker NVCR, has announced that findings from the METIS phase 3 clinical trial will be showcased at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, scheduled from May 31 to June 4, 2024. The METIS trial investigated the efficacy of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy in conjunction with stereotactic radiosurgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with 1-10 brain metastases. The trial's primary endpoint was met, indicating a significant improvement in the time to intracranial progression for patients receiving TTFields therapy along with supportive care, as opposed to those on supportive care alone.

Novocure's CEO, Asaf Danziger, expressed pride in presenting the METIS trial's outcomes at ASCO, which is considered the preeminent global oncology event. He emphasized the need for additional treatment options for NSCLC patients with brain metastases and highlighted that TTFields Therapy not only postponed intracranial progression but also maintained neurological function, a crucial factor for these patients. The data from METIS will be presented by Dr. Minesh Mehta, the lead author and a prominent figure in radiation oncology, during the Central Nervous System Tumors session on June 3.

In addition to the METIS trial, the ASCO Annual Meeting will feature three other abstracts related to TTFields therapy. These include a study on TTFields therapy's long-term survival outcomes in glioblastoma patients, a pivotal study on TTFields therapy combined with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy for metastatic NSCLC, and a publication on deep learning convolutional neural networks' ability to monitor and identify predictors of response to Novo-TTFields.

The METIS trial, registered as NCT02831959, involved 298 adults with 1-10 brain metastases from NSCLC. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either TTFields therapy plus supportive care or just supportive care after stereotactic radiosurgery. The trial's primary endpoint was the time to the first intracranial progression, and secondary endpoints encompassed a range of factors including overall survival and quality of life. The trial's data are anticipated to inform future regulatory discussions.

TTFields therapy employs electric fields to exert physical forces that target and eliminate cancer cells, leaving healthy cells largely unaffected due to their distinct properties. This therapy has shown potential to be integrated with various cancer treatment methods, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and has demonstrated synergistic effects in preclinical models. Novocure, the developer of TTFields therapy, is a global oncology company dedicated to extending survival rates for patients with aggressive cancers. Its products are approved in several countries for the treatment of specific cancers, and the company continues to explore the therapy's potential in various types of cancer through ongoing and completed clinical studies.

Novocure is headquartered in Switzerland, with a growing international presence, including operational centers in New Hampshire and Tokyo, and a research center in Israel.