OPTUNE / TUMOUR TREATING FIELDS

Optune was one of the treatments I desperately wanted Stu to have and couldn't get. Unlike many of the things I researched after his diagnosis, Optune wasn't an alternative treatment. It is a medical device specifically developed to treat cancer using Tumour Treating Fields, and there was already clinical trial evidence in glioblastoma. That made the fact that we couldn't access it particularly difficult to accept. I spent a huge amount of time trying to find a way. We explored private medical insurance, employers, compassionate access and paying for it ourselves. We kept hitting brick walls. Five years later, Optune is still not routinely available through the NHS, but the evidence has continued to develop and there are now more ways for UK patients to find information, prescribers and support.

WHAT IS OPTUNE?

Optune is a portable medical device that delivers Tumour Treating Fields, usually shortened to TTFields. The treatment uses low-intensity, alternating electric fields designed to interfere with processes involved when cancer cells divide. For glioblastoma, adhesive arrays are placed directly onto a shaved scalp and connected to a portable device. It isn't chemotherapy and it isn't radiotherapy. The treatment is delivered continuously while someone goes about their daily life.
For newly diagnosed glioblastoma, Optune has primarily been studied alongside maintenance temozolomide after surgery and chemoradiotherapy rather than as a replacement for standard treatment. One of the biggest practical differences between Optune and a drug is the amount of time it needs to be worn. Treatment is generally intended to be used for a substantial proportion of each day, which means living with the device becomes part of everyday life.

WHY WE WANTED OPTUNE FOR STU

When I found Optune, I couldn't understand why we weren't being offered it. There was randomised clinical trial evidence showing a survival benefit when Tumour Treating Fields were added to maintenance temozolomide for newly diagnosed glioblastoma. When your husband has been diagnosed with a cancer where every additional option feels important, finding something with human clinical evidence behind it and then discovering you can't access it is incredibly frustrating. So I started trying. I contacted anyone I thought might be able to help. We explored whether our private medical insurance would pay for it. We talked to employers but they denied the insurance company's request to let Stu access cancer treatment as part of the policy. We investigated compassionate access. We spoke to Novocure, the company behind Optune. At one point we were quoted approximately £17,000 a month. That wasn't something we could just find. And despite everything I tried, we never managed to get Optune for Stu.

WHAT DOES THE EVIDENCE SHOW?

The major clinical study behind Optune in newly diagnosed glioblastoma is known as EF-14. It compared maintenance temozolomide alone with Tumour Treating Fields plus maintenance temozolomide following surgery and chemoradiotherapy. In the final analysis, median progression-free survival from randomisation was 6.7 months in the Tumour Treating Fields plus temozolomide group compared with 4.0 months with temozolomide alone. Median overall survival from randomisation was 20.9 months compared with 16.0 months.

The trial also reported higher survival rates at later time points among people receiving Tumour Treating Fields. That doesn't mean Optune works for everyone or guarantees additional time for an individual person. Trial results describe what happened across groups of people. But this was randomised clinical evidence of a survival benefit in glioblastoma, which was why I found our inability to access it so difficult. Research has continued since EF-14, including studies looking at how Tumour Treating Fields performs outside the original clinical trial.

LIVING WITH OPTUNE

The other side of Optune is that it requires commitment. The scalp needs to be shaved and the arrays regularly replaced. The device needs to be carried or worn and treatment is intended to be used for long periods each day. Skin irritation beneath the arrays is one of the most common treatment-related problems. There are also practical considerations around sleeping, travelling, heat, changing arrays and simply incorporating a visible medical device into ordinary life. Those things matter. A treatment can have good clinical evidence and still have a significant effect on someone's daily life. The decision isn't just about whether a treatment works on paper. It is also about whether it is appropriate and manageable for the individual person. There is now far more practical support available in the UK for people trying to make that decision and for those already using Optune.

DR MATT WILLIAMS

Dr Matt Williams was Stu's oncologist and is someone we already knew through our own experience of glioblastoma. Matt is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist specialising in adult brain tumours and is involved in prescribing and supporting patients using Optune in the UK. He is also one of the people behind Optune Support UK alongside Lillie Pakzad-Shahabi, Clinical Research Practitioner in Neuro-oncology at Charing Cross Hospital and Imperial College London. For me, that connection matters because this isn't just a website explaining what the machine does. It has been developed by people working directly with brain tumour patients and people using Optune.

OPTUNE SUPPORT UK

One of the biggest changes since Stu was ill is that there is now a dedicated independent UK resource for people considering or using Optune. Optune Support UK was created and written by Dr Matt Williams and Lillie Pakzad-Shahabi. The website states that it is funded by Dr Williams and receives no funding from Novocure or any other organisation. It brings together information that I would have desperately wanted when I was trying to work all of this out. There is information about accessing Optune in the UK, current prescribers, funding, practical guidance, clinical information, patient experiences and living with the device. There is also a UK Optune Support Group with monthly online meetings, peer support and opportunities to hear directly from people who are actually using Optune. Rather than try to duplicate information here that will inevitably change, I would use Optune Support UK for the most current information about UK access, prescribers and support. 

ACCESSING OPTUNE IN THE UK

Access remains one of the biggest issues. Optune is not routinely available through the NHS for glioblastoma, so access in the UK can depend on individual circumstances, private treatment arrangements, funding and whether an appropriate clinician and provider can prescribe and deliver the treatment. There are now multiple clinicians listed as Optune prescribers in the UK, rather than the very limited options we encountered when Stu was ill.

Because these arrangements can change, I don't want to maintain a static list of prescribers here and risk sending someone towards information that is out of date. Optune Support UK maintains current information about accessing treatment and UK prescribers. If you're considering Optune, I would start there and discuss it with your neuro-oncology team.

NICE AND NHS ACCESS

This is where the UK position can seem confusing. Current NICE guidance says not to offer Tumour Treating Fields as part of the management of newly diagnosed glioblastoma. It also says not to offer Tumour Treating Fields as part of the management of recurrent high-grade glioma. That sits alongside randomised clinical evidence showing a survival benefit when Tumour Treating Fields were added to maintenance temozolomide for newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

NICE's rationale explains that its recommendation against Tumour Treating Fields was based on published health-economic evidence indicating that the treatment was not considered an efficient use of NHS resources. For recurrent disease, NICE also acknowledged evidence of some clinical benefit but concluded that the available health-economic evidence did not support its cost effectiveness. That distinction matters. A NICE recommendation about whether the NHS should routinely offer a treatment is not the same question as whether a clinical trial has shown that treatment to have an effect. For families reading about treatments being used internationally, the difference between evidence, approval, availability and NHS funding can be incredibly frustrating to navigate. Optune Support UK continues to advocate for wider access to Tumour Treating Fields in the UK and provides current information about that work.


PRACTICAL SUPPORT

If you are considering Optune, I wouldn't try to learn everything from this page. Optune Support UK now has practical resources covering things such as getting started, changing arrays, scalp care, integrating Optune into everyday life and experiences from patients and caregivers. There are patient stories, monthly online support meetings and a community of people who understand what it is like to live with the device. That lived experience matters too. When Stu was diagnosed I spent an extraordinary amount of time trying to piece information together from different places. Having somewhere that combines clinical knowledge with the experiences of people actually using Optune would have made that process considerably easier.


HINDSIGHT

WHAT WE KNOW NOW THAT WE WISH WE'D KNOWN THEN

Do I regret trying so hard to get Optune for Stu? No. Of all the things I chased after his diagnosis, this is one where I can look back five years later and still completely understand why I fought for it. There was clinical evidence behind it then and the evidence base has continued to develop. What I wish had been different was the access. Trying to find £17,000 every month for a treatment that appeared to offer additional survival was an impossible position to be in. It added another enormous decision and another layer of responsibility to a situation that already contained more than enough of both.

I also know now that access to a treatment is only one part of the story. Optune requires a significant commitment from the person wearing it and the people supporting them. If we had managed to get it for Stu, we would still have had to work out whether it was right for him and how it fitted into his life. But I would still have wanted that choice. That's the bit I find difficult looking back. We weren't able to decide whether the benefits and burdens of Optune were right for Stu because access effectively made the decision for us. The situation in the UK still isn't where I would like it to be, but there are now more clinicians involved, far better practical information and a community supporting people who are trying to navigate exactly the questions we were asking. I wish we'd had that.

CURRENT INFORMATION · 2026

TUMOUR TREATING FIELDS

Tumour Treating Fields use low-intensity alternating electric fields designed to disrupt processes involved in cancer-cell division. For glioblastoma, treatment is delivered through arrays placed on the shaved scalp and is generally used alongside other treatment rather than instead of it.

NEWLY DIAGNOSED GLIOBLASTOMA

The phase III EF-14 randomised trial found improved progression-free and overall survival when Tumour Treating Fields were added to maintenance temozolomide following chemoradiotherapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma. In the final analysis, median progression-free survival from randomisation was 6.7 months with Tumour Treating Fields plus temozolomide compared with 4.0 months with temozolomide alone. Median overall survival from randomisation was 20.9 months compared with 16.0 months.

MORE RECENT EVIDENCE

Research since EF-14 has continued to investigate Tumour Treating Fields in glioblastoma, including how outcomes compare when the treatment is used in routine clinical practice. The strongest randomised evidence for newly diagnosed glioblastoma remains the EF-14 trial. Other evidence should be interpreted according to the type and quality of the study rather than assumed to provide the same level of evidence as a randomised clinical trial.

SIDE EFFECTS

Unlike chemotherapy, Tumour Treating Fields do not generally cause the same type of systemic toxicity. One of the main treatment-related problems is irritation of the skin beneath the arrays. Practical burden and treatment adherence are also important considerations because the device is intended to be worn for substantial periods each day.

NICE

Current NICE guidance does not recommend offering Tumour Treating Fields as part of NHS management for newly diagnosed glioblastoma or recurrent high-grade glioma. NICE's rationale states that the recommendation for newly diagnosed disease was based on published health-economic evidence that Tumour Treating Fields were not considered an efficient use of NHS resources.

UK SUPPORT AND ACCESS

Optune Support UK provides current information about accessing Optune, UK prescribers, patient and caregiver support, practical guidance and advocacy. The platform describes itself as independent, funded by Dr Williams and created and written by Dr Williams and Lillie Pakzad-Shahabi, with no funding from Novocure or any other organisation. Because access arrangements can change, I recommend using their website rather than relying on a static list published here. 

Medical disclaimer: This website shares our personal experience of glioblastoma and is not medical advice. Always discuss treatment decisions with your medical team.

FURTHER READING & RESOURCES

OPTUNE SUPPORT UK
Independent UK information and support for patients, caregivers and clinicians, created by Dr Matt Williams and Lillie Pakzad-Shahabi.

ACCESSING OPTUNE IN THE UK
Current information about UK access and prescribers.

PATIENT & CAREGIVER SUPPORT
Practical resources, patient experiences and information about the UK Optune Support Group. The support group includes monthly online meetings and is hosted by Dr Matt Williams, Clinical Nurse Specialist Shivani Soni and Clinical Research Practitioner Lillie Pakzad-Shahabi.

OPTUNE SUPPORT UK · ADVOCACY
Current information about advocacy for access to Tumour Treating Fields in the UK.

NICE · BRAIN TUMOUR GUIDANCE
Current NICE recommendations for the management of glioblastoma, including Tumour Treating Fields.

EF-14 RANDOMISED CLINICAL TRIAL
The final analysis of the phase III study comparing Tumour Treating Fields plus maintenance temozolomide with maintenance temozolomide alone in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

optune / novocure