Unusual Treatment Shows Promise for Kids With Brain Tumors
2021-04-20
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1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2For many years, a deadly type of childhood cancer has escaped science's best treatments.
3But now doctors have made progress with an unusual treatment.
4They inject a virus into the brain to infect the tumors.
5This causes the body's immune system to attack.
6Many children treated this way lived more than twice as long as patients that did not have the treatment.
7Doctors reported this news Saturday at an American Association for Cancer Research conference and in the New England Journal of Medicine.
8The Associated Press reported on the findings.
9Although in the end, most of the children died of their disease, a few are alive and are doing well over a year after treatment.
10This is something unheard of in this situation.
11"This is the first step, a critical step," said the leader of the study, Dr. Gregory Friedman.
12He is a childhood cancer specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
13Friedman added that their goal "is to improve on this" latest finding.
14He said that first, they will use this new treatment as soon as the tumor is found.
15They also plan to combine this treatment with other treatments, he said, to increase the effectiveness of the body's immune system.
16The patients in the study were given the experimental treatment after other treatments failed to help their illnesses.
17The study involved gliomas.
18They make up 8 percent to 10 percent of childhood brain tumors.
19These tumors are usually treated with operations, chemotherapy, or radiation.
20However, they often come back.
21Once they return, survival averages just under six months.
22In such cases, the immune system has lost the ability to find and attack the cancer.
23So, scientists have been looking for ways to make the tumor a fresh target.
24To do this, they turned to the herpes virus.
25It creates a strong immune system response.
26A company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, called Treovir, developed the treatment.
27Researchers there genetically changed, or modified, the virus so it would infect only cancer cells.
28Doctors gave the modified virus to 12 patients ages 7 to 18.
29In all of them their cancer had worsened after usual treatments.
30Half also received one treatment of radiation.
31Radiation is thought to help the herpes virus spread.
32In 11 of the 12 patients, imaging tests or tissue samples showed that the treatment was working.
33Average survival was just over a year.
34That is more than two times longer than in the past.
35As of last June, four of the patients were still alive at least 18 months after treatment.
36Tests also showed high levels of specialized immune system cells in their tumors.
37This suggests that the treatment had created help needed from the body to attack the disease.
38No serious safety issues were seen.
39Jake Kestler had the treatment when he was 12.
40"It went very well. He lived for a year and four months after that," said his father, Josh Kestler.
41This gave his son enough time to celebrate his bar mitzvah, go with his family to Hawaii, and see a brother be born.
42Jake died April 11, 2019. But his father told the AP that they "have no regrets whatsoever" about trying the treatment.
43He and his wife have started a foundation, Trail Blazers for Kids, to continue this research.
44"It's a devastating disease for these patients and their families," said Dr. Antoni Ribas.
45He is a cancer specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the group holding the conference.
46He added that early results suggest the virus treatment is helping.
47However, the findings need to be confirmed in a larger study.
48Doctors are now planning such a study.
49Friedman said studies are continuing in adults as well.
50He added that there are plans to try this treatment on other types of childhood brain tumors.
51U.S. government grants and several foundations paid for the study, and several doctors have financial ties to the company Treovir.
52Only one similar virus therapy is currently approved in the United States.
53It is called Imlygic and is also a modified herpes virus.
54It is used for treating melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.
55And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
56I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2For many years, a deadly type of childhood cancer has escaped science's best treatments. But now doctors have made progress with an unusual treatment. They inject a virus into the brain to infect the tumors. This causes the body's immune system to attack. 3Many children treated this way lived more than twice as long as patients that did not have the treatment. Doctors reported this news Saturday at an American Association for Cancer Research conference and in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Associated Press reported on the findings. 4Although in the end, most of the children died of their disease, a few are alive and are doing well over a year after treatment. This is something unheard of in this situation. 5"This is the first step, a critical step," said the leader of the study, Dr. Gregory Friedman. He is a childhood cancer specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 6Friedman added that their goal "is to improve on this" latest finding. He said that first, they will use this new treatment as soon as the tumor is found. They also plan to combine this treatment with other treatments, he said, to increase the effectiveness of the body's immune system. 7The patients in the study were given the experimental treatment after other treatments failed to help their illnesses. 8The study involved gliomas. They make up 8 percent to 10 percent of childhood brain tumors. These tumors are usually treated with operations, chemotherapy, or radiation. 9However, they often come back. Once they return, survival averages just under six months. In such cases, the immune system has lost the ability to find and attack the cancer. So, scientists have been looking for ways to make the tumor a fresh target. 10To do this, they turned to the herpes virus. It creates a strong immune system response. A company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, called Treovir, developed the treatment. Researchers there genetically changed, or modified, the virus so it would infect only cancer cells. 11Doctors gave the modified virus to 12 patients ages 7 to 18. In all of them their cancer had worsened after usual treatments. Half also received one treatment of radiation. Radiation is thought to help the herpes virus spread. 12In 11 of the 12 patients, imaging tests or tissue samples showed that the treatment was working. 13Average survival was just over a year. That is more than two times longer than in the past. As of last June, four of the patients were still alive at least 18 months after treatment. 14Tests also showed high levels of specialized immune system cells in their tumors. This suggests that the treatment had created help needed from the body to attack the disease. No serious safety issues were seen. 15Jake Kestler had the treatment when he was 12. 16"It went very well. He lived for a year and four months after that," said his father, Josh Kestler. This gave his son enough time to celebrate his bar mitzvah, go with his family to Hawaii, and see a brother be born. 17Jake died April 11, 2019. But his father told the AP that they "have no regrets whatsoever" about trying the treatment. He and his wife have started a foundation, Trail Blazers for Kids, to continue this research. 18"It's a devastating disease for these patients and their families," said Dr. Antoni Ribas. He is a cancer specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the group holding the conference. He added that early results suggest the virus treatment is helping. However, the findings need to be confirmed in a larger study. Doctors are now planning such a study. 19Friedman said studies are continuing in adults as well. He added that there are plans to try this treatment on other types of childhood brain tumors. 20U.S. government grants and several foundations paid for the study, and several doctors have financial ties to the company Treovir. 21Only one similar virus therapy is currently approved in the United States. It is called Imlygic and is also a modified herpes virus. It is used for treating melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. 22And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. 23I'm Anna Matteo. 24Marilynn Marchione reported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 25________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27tumor - n. a mass of tissue found in or on the body that is made up of abnormal cells 28immune system - n. the system that protects your body from diseases and infections 29patient - n. a person who receives medical care or treatment 30critical - adj. extremely important 31chemotherapy - n. medical : the use of chemicals to treat or control a disease (such as cancer) 32radiation - n. medical : the use of controlled amounts of radiation for the treatment of diseases (such as cancer) 33herpes - n. a disease caused by a virus that causes painful spots on the skin 34foundation - n. an organization that is created and supported with money that people give in order to do something that helps society 35devastating - adj. causing extreme emotional pain 36therapy - n. the treatment of physical or mental illnesses