Alternating electric field therapy

Alternating electric field therapy, also called tumor treating fields, is a cancer treatment that applies low intensity, intermediate frequency electric fields to disrupt the division of cancer cells, delivered clinically through a device made by the Israeli company Novocure under the brand name Optune. The fields align charged proteins such as tubulin and septin so that they cannot move to where they are needed during cell division, and during the late stages of division they draw polar molecules and cell structures toward the center of the dividing cell, together triggering cell death; the frequency, adjustable between 100 and 300 kilohertz, can be tuned to target cancer cells of a particular size while limiting harm to healthy cells. The therapy is approved for newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma and for malignant pleural mesothelioma, with further cancer types under clinical investigation, though its efficacy remains a subject of debate among medical experts.