First Child Cured Of Rare Brain Tumour, Brainstem Glioma; What You Should Know About The Condition

first child cured of rare brain tumour, brainstem glioma; what you should know about the condition

A Belgian boy, Lucas, was diagnosed with a rare type of brain tumour, brainstem glioma, at the age of six. However, seven years later, Lucas is now 13 years old and he is free of the tumour. He is the first child in the world to have been cured of brainstem glioma which is an extremely brutal form of cancer.

The doctors said that there was no doubt of the prognosis. French doctor Jacques Grill, head of the brain tumour programme at the Gustave Roussy Cancer Centre in Paris, got emotional remembering the time when he had to inform Lucas’s parents about their son’s condition and that he was going to die. Grill said, “Lucas beat all the odds” to survive.

What is brainstem glioma?

Brainstem glioma are tumours that develop in the brainstem which connects the lower part of the brain to the top of the spinal cord. Even though the brainstem is small, it controls several important functions that are required for survival. Therefore, a tumour developing in the brainstem can be deadly. It can impact a person’s breathing, heart rate, digestion and muscular coordination among others.

Columbia University, Neurosurgery says that brainstem glioma can be categorized as astrocytomas which are a group of brain and spinal tumours that originate from astrocytes. “Astrocytes are star-shaped glial cells—cells tasked with keeping the brain and spine in good health. All astrocytomas belong to a broader category of tumours called glioma.”

What are the different types of brainstem glioma?

There are two types of brainstem glioma, depending on the growth speed and aggressiveness of the tumour.

• Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG): This grows very quickly and invades other areas in the brainstem.
• Focal glioma: This grows slowly and tends to stay in one area of the brainstem. The outlook for individuals with this type is better than for those with DIPG.

Columbia University says that most brainstem glioma occur in children. About 10 to 20 percent of all brain tumours in children are brainstem glioma.

What are the symptoms of brainstem glioma?

Symptoms tend to depend on several factors, such as age, location of tumour and size. Brainstem glioma grows and exerts pressure on brain tissue and other structures nearby, it starts to show symptoms. Here are some of the common symptoms of brainstem glioma, according to Columbia University:

• Loss of feeling in the face
• Dysarthria
• Dysphagia
• Worsening handwriting
• Diplopia
• Weakness and ataxia
• Failure to thrive

When the brainstem glioma grows, it starts to take up more space in the skull and since the skull cannot expand, the pressure starts to increase. This eventually causes headaches, vomiting, nausea and drowsiness. Headache resulting from brainstem glioma typically occurs in the morning upon waking and gets better throughout the day.

What are the risk factors of brainstem glioma?

The cause of brainstem glioma is unclear. Brainstem glioma are not inherited, however, people who have certain inherited conditions like neurofibromatosis type 1 have an increased of developing a brainstem glioma.

Columbia University says that brainstem glioma tend to occur in children and young adults, with about 75 percent of brainstem glioma arising in people younger than 20 years old. “In adults, these tumours are rare, but if they do occur, they tend to arise in people in their 40s.”