When a french doctor named Jacques Grill saw the tumors, it was clear that 6 year-old Lucas was going to die. After an experimental treatment, the results showed that Lucas was not going to die. Brain stem glioma, also known as, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is rare and diagnosed in 300 children a year in the United States and 100 in France where the doctor is. After Lucas’ diagnosis, his family went to France to search for medication and treatments for DIPG. Lucas was randomly assigned the drug everolimus and took it for more then 5 years but with great success. 7 other children in the trial have also survived, but their tumors have not disappeared completely. In Lucas’ cases it was found that his tumors were genetic mutations, which has only been seen a few times in history. Biomedical researchers are saying that they are hoping to reproduce these tumor cells with this mutation in vitro.
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Belgian Boy is the First Child in the World To Have Been Cured of Brain Stem Glioma, a Brutal Cancer
Natalie Villafana, Writer
February 23, 2024
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