Sant Joan de Déu administers this treatment to a child with this type of ailment for the first time in the world
Professionals from the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona of the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital have successfully treated still child that presented a brain tumor no healing options with two medications commonly used for the lung cancer in adultsthey have reported in a statement this Monday.
The center has prescribed these treatments after performing a molecular analysis of the tumor in different phases of the evolution of the disease: genetic alterations have been discovered that were changing over time and that conditioned a change in the targeted treatment.
Specifically, molecular analysis revealed that the tumor presented a alteration involving the ALK gene, common in adult lung cancers, so they had to find a drug to target this gene modification and that would reach the brain well.
In 2019, Makar was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor when he was only 1 year old. In his country he was operated on and treated with chemotherapy without success.
We explain a little more about its history ? pic.twitter.com/0eppqAX0y5
— Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona ES (@SJDbarcelona_es) February 13, 2023
pioneering treatment
It’s about the first time in the world that this medicine is administer to a minor in this situation, so the oncologists contacted the pharmaceutical company to predict what dose could be well tolerated by the child and at the same time be effective.
Weeks after receiving treatment, they found that the size of the boy’s tumor had shrunk remarkably, almost disappearing, but three months later, the glioma had become resistant to treatment and had grown again.
visible improvement
They operated on the minor again, removed the entire tumor and sent it for analysis: they detected a second alteration in the same ALK gene, for which reason they proposed administering the patient another drug also indicated for lung cancer in adults.
Again they contacted the corresponding pharmacist because it had never been administered before in cases like his and the second treatment managed to reduce the tumor again, but it grew again.
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The patient underwent surgery and received rproton radiation therapy: one year later, the tumor has disappeared and there is no evidence of the disease.
At present, the minor maintains a “certain psychomotor retardation”, but his state of health has significantly improved: he has managed to walk again, although with assistance, and to communicate and make himself understood.