Novocure has announced that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan has approved reimbursement for its medical device Optune Lua under the country’s National Health Insurance programme, expanding patient access to the therapy.

Optune Lua is approved in Japan for use alongside PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors in adult patients with unresectable, advanced or recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed during or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

According to the company, the reimbursement decision enables eligible patients to receive treatment at qualified healthcare centres across the country.

Hidehito Kotani, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Novocure, said lung cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Japan, highlighting the urgent need for broader access to approved treatment options. He added that reimbursement through the national insurance system will allow more patients with advanced NSCLC to access Optune Lua as a therapeutic option.

Optune Lua is a wearable and portable medical device that delivers Tumour Treating Fields (TTFields), a therapy that uses alternating electric fields to disrupt cancer cell division. These fields are delivered through non-invasive arrays placed on the patient’s body.

TTFields exert physical forces on electrically charged components within dividing cancer cells, interfering with their replication process and ultimately leading to cancer cell death while largely sparing healthy cells due to their different biological characteristics.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with non-small cell lung cancer accounting for around 85 percent of all cases. In Japan, approximately 100,000 new NSCLC cases are diagnosed annually.

Treatment approaches for NSCLC vary depending on disease stage and typically include surgery, radiation therapy and drug-based treatments. Surgery is generally considered for early-stage disease, while combinations of radiation and platinum-based chemotherapy have been the standard first-line treatment for locally advanced NSCLC for decades. In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors have also become part of first-line treatment strategies.

Tumour Treating Fields therapy works through multiple mechanisms to disrupt cancer cell growth and can be combined with other treatment modalities, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapies.

Novocure focuses on developing and commercialising TTFields-based therapies aimed at improving survival outcomes in patients with aggressive cancers.