First Child in the World Cured of Rare Brain Tumor

Researchers have revealed that a Belgian boy named Lucas has completely healed from a brainstem glioma (DIPG), a cancer he was diagnosed with at the age of six, making him the first child in the world to recover from this rare brain tumor. Lucas, now 13, was among the first patients to join the BIOMEDE trial testing potential new drugs for DIPG. From the outset, Lucas strongly responded to the cancer drug everolimus, which was prescribed to him randomly. Dr. Jacques Grill, head of the brain tumor program at Gustave Roussy cancer center in Paris, stated, "Lucas overcame all odds to survive. During a series of MRI scans, I observed the tumor completely disappearing." However, the doctor did not dare to stop the treatment, at least until a year and a half later, when Lucas revealed that he was no longer taking the medications anyway. Dr. Grill remarked, "I don't know of any other case like his in the world." Seven other children in the trial have survived years after their diagnosis, but Lucas's tumor completely vanished, marking a first of its kind. Dr. Grill noted that the reason some children responded to the treatment while others did not likely relates to the "biological characteristics" of their individual tumors. Lucas's tumor had an extremely rare mutation believed to have made its cells more sensitive to the drug. Researchers are now seeking to understand precisely why Lucas recovered and how his case can aid other children like him in the future. The team plans to replicate Lucas's genetic mutations in organic models to see if the tumor can then be eradicated with the same efficacy. David Ziegler, a pediatric oncologist at Sydney Children's Hospital in Australia, explained that the landscape of DIPG has changed significantly over the past decade. He noted that laboratory advancements, increased funding, and trials like BIOMEDE "have convinced me that we will soon discover we are capable of treating some patients."