Miracle drug discovered against brain cancer! 13-year-old child recovers

An experimental drug used to treat a 13-year-old child has cured a previously untreatable type of brain cancer.

Years ago, a 6-year-old boy named Lucas was diagnosed with brain cancer. This type of cancer was known as a glial tumor, a form that leads to fatal outcomes in children; in fact, there were no children who had survived this type of cancer. French doctor Jacques Grill had to deliver the difficult news to the family, stating that their child would die. However, today, Lucas is completely healthy and 13 years old, marking a world first.

The Belgian child has gone down in history as the first case of a glial tumor in the brain to be cured. While success rates of up to 85 percent can be achieved in childhood cancer, Lucas's treatment is considered different and promising. The Gustave Roussy cancer center in Paris states that Lucas has achieved the impossible.

This type of brain cancer, called DIPG, is seen in thousands of children worldwide every year. Only 10 percent of children diagnosed with this type of cancer, which can sometimes be slowed down by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, were able to live for more than two years, and no drug treatment had been effective.

Keeping their hopes alive, Lucas and his family traveled from Belgium to France to participate in BIOMEDE drug trials. There, Lucas was randomly selected to test a drug called everolimus. Dr. Grill said they observed that the cancer had completely disappeared during regular MRI scans. Grill, who continued to administer the drug even after the tumor disappeared, ended the process after learning that Lucas had stopped taking the medication some time ago.

Although seven other children survived after undergoing similar treatment processes, the tumor disappeared completely only in Lucas.

Researchers have now begun to investigate the genetic factors behind Lucas's complete recovery. It was announced that after these factors are identified, drugs that can act on tumor cells will be developed. However, it is estimated that a period of 10-15 years is needed to produce a usable drug.

News Source: 12punto