A 13-year-old boy from Belgium has defied all odds, making medical history by becoming the first person to be fully cured of terminal brain cancer.
Diagnosed at just six years old, Lucas Jemeljanova endured a long battle with a rare and aggressive brain tumor known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).
A Devastating Diagnosis: What Is DIPG?
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is an extremely aggressive brain cancer that primarily affects children between the ages of five and nine.
This deadly tumor forms at the base of the brain, where it meets the spine, and is notoriously difficult to treat.
DIPG is known for its grim prognosis, with 98% of sufferers not surviving beyond five years after diagnosis. According to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, approximately 300 children are diagnosed with DIPG each year.
The Warning Signs: Early Symptoms of DIPG
For Lucas, the first signs of trouble appeared during a family holiday.
His parents noticed that Lucas struggled to walk straight, had difficulty urinating, and suffered from frequent nosebleeds.
These symptoms are typical of DIPG, which often presents with problems related to eye movement, facial weakness, difficulty walking, unusual limb movements, and balance issues.
The Journey to Recovery: A Groundbreaking Clinical Trial
Until recently, radiotherapy was the only treatment available for DIPG, offering little hope for a cure.
However, Lucas was selected to participate in a groundbreaking clinical trial under the study “Biological Medicine for DIPG Eradication.” This trial aimed to test new medications that might offer a glimmer of hope for those suffering from this deadly disease.
The Miraculous Response: Tumor Completely Disappears
Out of the small group of children involved in the study, Lucas was the only one whose tumor completely vanished.
While the other children experienced significant tumor reduction and extended life expectancy, Lucas’s results were nothing short of miraculous.
His case astonished the medical community, with Dr. Jacques Grill, a specialist at the Gustave Roussy cancer treatment center in Villejuif, France, expressing his amazement: “I don’t know of any other case like him in the world. Over a series of MRI scans, I watched as the tumor completely disappeared.”
The Treatment: How Everolimus Changed the Game
Lucas’s remarkable recovery is attributed to a drug called Everolimus, which had never before been used to treat DIPG.
Everolimus works by inhibiting a protein known as mTOR, which plays a key role in the growth and division of cancer cells.
The researchers involved in the trial are now focused on understanding why Lucas responded so exceptionally well to the treatment, in hopes of replicating this success in other patients.