Treatment experience of survivors fighting glioma for 18 years

Treatment experience of survivors fighting glioma for 18 years. When other patients know that  Lauren is a survivor who has been with glioma for 18 years, their faces always show bright smiles.

“When patients know that I am a survivor who has been with glioma for 18 years, they will always have a bright smile on their faces. I know, and I am very happy, to some extent I have brought them hope .”

——This is how Lauren Walsh, a 46-year-old American patient with malignant glioma, was treated by Professor Mitchel Berger at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center.

Survival with tumor for 18 years, setting world long-term survival record for glioma

In 2000, Lauren, who was only 28 years old at the time, went to the doctor for severe pain on the left side of his head. MRI showed that hemorrhage in the left temporal lobe of the brain was required to be stopped by surgery. During the operation, the doctor discovered that there was arteriovenous hemorrhage in the brain and a brain tumor-later diagnosed as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). This is a highly malignant type of glioma. Most GBM patients survive for no more than 2 years, which is short-term survival; only a few can survive for more than 3 or 5 years, which is long-term survival.

The terrible illness did not frighten the strong Lauren, she chose to accept calmly and actively treat. Only through radiation therapy and self-exercise, Lauren survived with the tumor for 4 years with an optimistic attitude and tenacious will. In 2005, Professor Mitchel Berger, director of neurosurgery at the UCSF neurosurgery hospital, a world-famous/top-ranked neurosurgery hospital in the United States and a well-known expert on brain tumors in the United States, personally performed the surgery. Lauren underwent a sober craniotomy. Chemotherapy spent another 2 years of recovery. After that, although the tumor recurred to varying degrees, she was able to prolong her life longer after the comprehensive treatment of surgery + radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

So far, through 4 brain surgeries and several years of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Lauren has survived for 18 years and is beating the survival rate statistics of glioma. During this period, she still has a passion for life. When her physical strength allows, she will continue to exercise and celebrate each milestone through outdoor activities, including mini triathlon, ski trips, mountaineering and so on.

Fortunately to meet the highly skilled Professor Mitchel Berger

Professor Mitchel Berger, Lauren’s attending physician, former president of the American Association of Neurosurgery, and current president of UCSF Neurosurgery, is of great significance to Lauren’s long-term survival. The high resection rate performed by Professor Mitchel Berger determines his postoperative stabilization and the positive effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This is an extremely critical part of Lauren’s overall treatment of brain tumors.

In addition to being well-known in the United States, Professor Mitchel Berger is also a well-known expert in awake craniotomy and brain mapping technology in the neurosurgery neighborhood of the world. He has a wealth of expertise in brain surgery and can accurately identify movements. , Sensory and language functions, so as to avoid injury to important nerves during the operation, which can largely guarantee the accuracy and safety of the operation. The ultrasound-guided surgical instrument method invented by Professor Mitchel Berger has obtained a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent is a surgical instrument guide used in combination with an ultrasound probe and a method of use. The method can increase the success rate of surgery, reduce complications, and reduce patient suffering. It has been widely used in the field of neurosurgery.

New drugs and treatments at the forefront of UCSF are working

The US UCSF Medical Center where Professor Mitchel Berger is located is a world-renowned neurosurgical disease research and treatment institution. In the treatment of malignant gliomas like glioblastoma, the UCSF Brain Tumor Center is based on its world-leading diagnosis and treatment equipment, and provides patients with a variety of different, cutting-edge new technologies, new drugs and new drugs. Therapy is of great significance for alleviating the pain of the disease and prolonging the life cycle of patients.

During Lauren’s early chemotherapy, Temodar (Temozolomide) and Avastin (Avastin), which were first introduced by UCSF at the time and approved by the US FDA for the treatment of glioblastoma, were also used. Unlike other chemotherapy drugs, Temodar can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, which means that the drug can reach the tumor, and Avastin can work by blocking the tumor’s blood supply. These new drugs combined with radiation therapy can slow down or prevent the growth of cancer cells, and play a great role in the long-term survival of patients.

In recent years, UCSF has made frequent efforts in glioma immunotherapy and clinical trials. Among them, CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) T cell therapy, genetically engineered viruses, and therapeutic vaccines are all frontier breakthroughs in UCSF immunotherapy. As a member of the American Adult Brain Tumor Alliance (ABTC), Pacific Children’s Neuro-Tumor Alliance (PNOC), and Childhood Oncology Group (COG), UCSF also actively participates in various clinical trials of brain tumor treatment in China, seeking for brain tumor patients , Research on effective therapeutic drugs and innovative therapies. To a certain extent, these have benefited more patients with malignant glioma like Lauren.

Lauren’s case is not alone, active treatment can prolong survival to a large extent

Although the overall prognosis of patients with malignant glioma is poor, there are indeed a small number of patients like Lauren who can survive long-term and high-quality after active treatment. The study concluded that these long-term survival patients have undergone active and standardized surgery to achieve safe resection of a large range of tumors. Surgery is still the preferred treatment strategy after recurrence. After the operation, long-term radiotherapy and chemotherapy are being carried out. Patients and their families have urgent desire for treatment and strong will to survive, which also plays a positive role in tumor treatment.

With the introduction of new drugs and advances in radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and clinical trial methods, patients with malignant glioma have more treatment options, and the proportion of patients who currently survive 2 years after diagnosis has more than tripled. For some younger patients (less than 50 years of age), especially when the tumor is located in the prefrontal lobe, anterior temporal lobe, and unilateral cerebellum, first a large range of safe tumor resection should be adopted, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy as much as possible Individualized comprehensive treatment, establishing strong confidence and strong desire for survival, and insisting on active treatment, are indeed likely to bring patients a longer-term survival and better prognosis.

Although the overall prognosis of patients with malignant glioma is poor, looking at Lauren’s extraordinary treatment experience and a small number of patients like Lauren who can survive long-term and high-quality after active treatment, INC has summarized the following 4 points of experience for malignancy For reference for patients with brain tumors:

1. Don’t be intimidated by numbers

When you are diagnosed with a serious disease, especially malignant brain tumors such as medulloblastoma and glioblastoma, understanding the survival rate, median survival and prognosis may make you more panic. However, it is important to remember that these are just simple statistics, and they do not apply to a specific person.

Although it is important to understand the survival rate of malignant brain tumors, don’t rely too much on numbers. Your situation may be different. For your personal prognosis, the decisive factor is how to treat effectively, your willingness to survive, and a healthy and positive attitude.

Although Lauren’s treatment experience has been very ups and downs, she still has a passion for life throughout the process. She will continue to exercise when her physical strength allows, and celebrate every milestone through outdoor activities, including mini triathlon, skiing Trips, climbing, etc.

2. Pay attention to the first operation! The degree of resection determines the prognosis

Although malignant brain tumors rarely occur extracranial metastases, they are very prone to recurrence, because the tumors grow infiltratingly and are very aggressive. Surgery is difficult to complete removal, so the recurrence rate is extremely high.

In particular, the median survival time of glioblastoma is less than two years, especially the functional area glioma greatly limits the scope of surgical resection, the recurrence rate is higher, and the prognosis is worse. With the application of neuroelectrophysiological monitoring, stereotactic positioning, intraoperative MRI, functional MRI, cortical function positioning, intraoperative wake-up and PECT aids, the quality of surgery for functional area gliomas has been improved to a large extent. Extend the life span. The degree of surgical resection is closely related to the prognosis. The current surgical principle is still to remove the tumor in a large range under the premise of safety.

The study concluded that these long-term survival patients have undergone active and standardized surgery to achieve safe resection of a large range of tumors. Surgery is still the preferred treatment strategy after recurrence.

3. Active adjuvant treatment to prevent recurrence

To combat malignant brain tumors, another important adjuvant treatment is radiotherapy. The main purpose of radiotherapy is to target the remaining tumor cells after malignant brain tumors, thereby greatly controlling tumor recurrence. The emergence of new chemotherapy and targeted drugs will bring new vitality to treatment. During Lauren’s early chemotherapy, Temodar (Temozolomide) and Avastin (Avastin), which were first introduced by UCSF at the time and approved by the US FDA for the treatment of glioblastoma, were also used. So far, Temodar (Temozolomide) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug with small side effects and relatively high effective rate.

With the introduction of new drugs and advances in radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and clinical trial methods, patients with malignant glioma have more treatment options, and the proportion of patients who currently survive 2 years after diagnosis has more than tripled.

4: Choose high-level neurosurgeons with rich experience in malignant brain tumor surgery and comprehensive treatment

Professor Mitchel Berger, Lauren’s attending physician, former president of the American Association of Neurosurgery, and current president of UCSF Neurosurgery, is of great significance to Lauren’s long-term survival. The high resection rate performed by Professor Mitchel Berger determines his postoperative stabilization and the positive effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This is an extremely critical part of Lauren’s overall treatment of brain tumors.

To make the brain tumor more effective, a mature and experienced neurosurgery team can not only maximize the effect of the operation, but also guide the patient to other scientific auxiliary treatment methods after surgery. Words are crucial.

In addition to Professor Mitchel Berger, the INC World Neurosurgery Advisory Group also specializes in safe and high resection of malignant brain tumors. International professors also include Professor Sebastien Froelich, the chairman of the Skull Base Surgery Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgery (WFNS), and the famous world-renowned journal “Journal “of Neurosurgery” is currently the editor-in-chief of Professor James T. Rutka from Canada, and Professor Bart Langfei, Chairman of the Education Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgery (WFNS).

The hospitals they are in are all the world’s advanced professional neurosurgical disease diagnosis and treatment centers, such as Lariboisiere University Hospital in Paris, France, SickKids at the Children’s Hospital of the University of Toronto in Canada, and INI International Neurology Institute in Germany. They have international cutting-edge surgical techniques and a considerable number of Successful cases are overseas medical destinations that domestic brain tumor patients are keen on.

Finally, INC International Neurosurgery reminds that for some younger patients (less than 50 years old), especially when the tumor is located in the prefrontal lobe, anterior temporal lobe and unilateral cerebellum, it is first necessary to take a large range of safe tumor resection. Secondly, use personalized comprehensive treatment such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy as much as possible, establish strong confidence and strong desire for survival, and insist on active treatment, which may indeed bring patients a longer-term survival and better prognosis.

(source:chinanet, reference only)

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