Stanford Medical Examination Cell Therapy Fights Childhood Brain Tumors
Participants in the Stanford cancer trial showed no detectable signs of brain tumors, while others showed shrinking tumors.
Michael Bolton’s fight against glioblastoma attracted attention for one of the most complex, deadly and therapeutically resistant cancers.
The 72-year-old singer told people that she was diagnosed in December 2023 after undergoing emergency surgery. He also underwent another brain surgery in January 2024.
In an interview published on April 30, Bolton said he completed radiation and chemotherapy in October, and his latest scan was apparent in early April.
The five-year survival rate for glioblastoma patients is approximately 6.9%, and the average survival rate is estimated to be just eight months, according to the National Brain Tumor Association. But Bolton told people he was intentionally unprognosed.
Here’s what you need to know about aggressive brain tumors:
What is glioblastoma?
Glioblastoma is a type of brain cancer that begins as the growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord, according to Mayo Clinic.
Dr Mustafa Caslow, a neurooncologist at Duke University School of Medicine, said cancer is aggressive and could grow rapidly while invading and destroying healthy tissue.
“It has proven to be extremely difficult to treat and there is a high chance that you will grow even with the best surgical procedures, treatments, everything,” he said.
According to the National Brain Tumor Association, it is estimated that more than 10,000 people die from glioblastoma each year. However, Khasraw said not all patients died within a year.
“In our practice, we have a pretty significant group of long-term survivors,” he said. “They are outliers.”
Notable figures who died of glioblastoma include Sen. John McCain, the first black Republican woman elected to Congress, Mia Love, Beau Biden, and the son of former US President Joe Biden.
Mia Love, the first black Republican woman in Congress, dies at age 49.
Mia Love, the first black Republican woman to be elected to Congress, passed away at the age of 49 at her Utah home.
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Symptoms of glioblastoma
Although the diagnosis can occur at any age, Mayo Clinic said older people are more likely to develop glioblastoma.
Symptoms of glioblastoma include:
- headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Confusion, brain functioning or memory loss
- Changes in personality and irritation
- Visual changes such as blurry vision, double vision, and loss of peripheral vision
- The difficulty of speech
- Balance or adjustment issues
- Face, arms and legs weakness
- seizures, especially those who have never experienced before
Bolton told People Magazine that his treatment had an impact on his short-term memory, speech and mobility.
Is there a treatment for glioblastoma?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, glioblastoma can be treated with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or brain surgery, called cranial muscle.
Treatment may slow the growth of cancer and reduce symptoms, but there is no treatment.
This is one of the few cancers that have made little progress in 20 years despite increased funding from organizations, institutions and pharmaceutical companies, Khasraw said. This is due to the aggressive nature of cancer and how difficult it is to include sufficient participants in robust clinical trials.
“We are notoriously finding great new treatments and improving results is difficult,” he said. “It’s an area of unmet needs.”
However, the field has recently circumvented to focus on small-scale biological research. Khasraw encourages patients with a diagnosis of glioblastoma to seek treatment in clinical trials.
Adrianna Rodriguez can visit adrodriguez@usatoday.com.
(This story has been updated to add new information. )