Lucas, 13, recovered from an incurable cancer

“His tumor is completely gone. We consider it a cure! » Doctor Jacques Grill, a research doctor at the Gustave Roussy Cancer Center in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne), encountered a unique case of its kind. In January, he announced his recovery to Lucas, a 13-year-old cancer patient, although he was judged. “incurable”.

First? “Globally, I cannot say clearly, Infuriates the head of the brain tumor program led by the Île-de-France institute. Earlier, diagnostic methods left a margin of error. If the patients recovered, we told ourselves that we must have made a mistake in the test. Now, we use biopsy, which is a more reliable test. And since, yes, it is the first. »

A rare and deadly cancer

Victory over an enemy with a formidable name: infiltrating brainstem glioma. A rare cancer, which affects about fifty children and adolescents each year. “The two-year survival rate is no more than 5%The doctor accepts. The tumor is located in a delicate and deep area of ​​the brain, responsible for important functions such as the pons, breathing and balance. Any surgical procedure can result in loss of neurological functions. »

For Lucas, who lives outside Brussels (Belgium) with his parents and his sister, the diagnosis came at the age of 6. “ Initially he had some difficulty in urinating. We didn’t worry too much, we thought it wasn’t serious, Remembers Cedric, his father, who works in IT for Belgian defense (1). And then he began to waver, he was tired, he had a headache…”

The child has a follow-up MRI. The result is clear. “We are disappointed, because we already know the statistics about this disease…” Its outcome is fatal, often within nine to twelve months after its discovery.

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One try, one hope

Under the leadership of Dr Jacques Grill, clinical trials were established. It is given to children suffering from this tumor. BioMed, the trial in question combines everolimus, a drug of choice for treating certain cancers and brain tumors, with these radiotherapy sessions. “Usually, we settle for radiotherapy. But, alone, it offers no chance of long-term recovery. It only calms the symptoms and usually, the disease returns after six months.Condemns the researcher.

“It was offered to us directly. It was our only option, so we accepted it. Cedric says. After six weeks, “Swollen with cortisone” To mask symptoms and reduce inflammation, Lucas may eventually begin a trial.

Radiotherapy is spread over thirty sessions. The treatment will last five years. Upheaval to the family’s daily life. “We took time to be with Lucas in Paris. For the first two months his mother stayed with him and I went back and forth from Brussels every weekend. » Lucas then gets a glimpse of a normal life and returns to school, “With his bobo on his head”which he had to leave for several months.

“I’m not sure he was aware of the situationUnderlines the father. At age 6, he was not offered a course in medical statistics. As long as he was fine, the symptoms were being treated, he didn’t seem any different. »

Also read: the witness His children, ages 3 and 8, have the same cancer: “Our lives have stopped”

“We saw the tumor disappear”

As the frequency of visits to Paris increases, first a month, then two and more, Lucas’s condition stabilizes, improving. “The tumor had shrunk with treatment. During the MRI, we saw that it gradually disappeared. »

Reasons for hope follow each other. While writing a new prescription, the doctor discovers that Lucas, now a teenager, has stopped taking his treatment: “Even though I prescribed a specific dose, he had a reserve of medicine. » It suggests that the young patient stop taking the drug permanently.

The illness remained stable until the day in January when Lucas, now 13, was declared officially cured. “Five years later, all we could see was his biopsy scar, his disease had disappeared. We had to take the plunge. »

Major Scientific Advances or Unique Cases? The doctor keeps measuring. “Very few patients are in the same situation. Lucas had tumor cells that had mutated to make him very sensitive to treatment. We have to succeed in putting other baby cells in the same situation. The road will be long. »

Lucas’s family finally can “Plan a vacation again”, Faith, Relief, Cedric. And for the future? teenager “I want to see myself as a YouTuber! »

(1) Lucas’ father did not want to give his name.