Miracle in Belgium. Brain stem infiltrating glioma remains one of the most dreaded forms of brain cancer in children. But the extraordinary story of Lucas, a 13-year-old Belgian boy, gives hope to all those fighting the disease. The little boy has been cured of this tumor, previously considered incurable.
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An experimental treatment
At the age of six, doctors diagnosed little Lucas with an infiltrating glioma of the brain stem. With only between 3,200 cases reported each year in the UK, this tumor is inoperable, resisting conventional treatments such as radiotherapy. But 'Lucas has beaten all the odds', his doctor, Jacques Grill, told AFP. Jacques Grill is the head of the Brain Tumor Program in the Pediatric Oncology Department at the Gustave-Roussy cancer center in Paris.
Lucas no longer shows any traces of tumour
When the cancer was first announced, the doctor recalled telling his parents that their son was not going to survive. Then the family came to France from Belgium, so that little Lucas could undergo experimental treatment.
Lucas has been treated with an experimental drug, a targeted therapy that has shown extraordinary efficacy. A unique case for the moment, but one that offers hope for other young patients. Research is now focusing on the specific aspects that led to this exceptional cure. Dr Gill adds:
As the MRIs went on, I saw the tumor completely disappear. A case like this, I don't know of any other in the world.
This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
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