“Today” show host Sheinelle
Jones is back on the air and detailed the loss of her husband to brain cancer.
Uche Ojeh died in May at
the age of 45 from an aggressive form of brain cancer
called glioblastoma.
On Friday, WRAL News spoke with
Duke Health Neuro-oncologist Dr. Annick Desjardins. She is also a professor of
neurosurgery and neurology at Duke.
“Glioblastoma is what we call a
primary brain tumor,” Desjardins said. “What that means is it is a form of
cancer that starts in the brain.
“It is not, for example, lung
cancer that travels and metastasizes to the brain. It is a type of cancer that
starts directly in the brain.”
Desjardins, who sees patients
at the Duke Cancer Institute and The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at
Duke, said glioblastoma is the most aggressive of all the primary brain tumors.
“It is not a cancer that is
really frequent,” Desjardins said. “There [are] about 14,000 cases diagnoses
every year in the U.S”
Desjardins said most patients
with glioblastoma are 65 or older. In older adults, Desjardins said it can
spread faster and often causes severe headaches.
In younger patients, Desjardins
said this type of brain tumor is typically slower-growing and mainly causes
seizures.
The American Brain Tumor
Association lists headaches, nausea, vomiting and drowsiness as symptoms for
the tumor. Depending on where the tumor is, however, weakness on one side of
the body, memory and speech difficulties and visual changes can all be developed
as a result.
>> How is glioblastoma treated?
Regardless of age, the tumors
are extremely difficult to treat because of the body’s natural defense response
to things like chemotherapy.
“The brain is protected by what
we call the ‘blood-brain barrier,’” Desjardins said. “We were developed like
that so that toxins, infections and poisons will not damage our brain.
“Unfortunately, it’s preventing
us from treating glioblastoma with most available drugs for cancer.”
Duke researchers are working
to change that. In 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug for
low-grade glioma, based
off clinical trials done at Duke.
According to the American Brain Tumor Association, glioma is a general term used to describe any tumor that arises from the supportive (“gluey”) tissue of the brain. This tissue, called “glia,” helps to keep the neurons in place and functioning well.
“I think what has evolved the
most in glioblastoma research over the last 30 years is really the fact that we
now understand the issue that we can’t just use the compounds or drugs that are
used for other cancer,” Desjardins said. “That’s what we were doing in the past, and we need to develop drugs that are
specific for the brain tumor.
“We also need to figure out
drugs that will cross the blood-brain barrier.”
Duke’s Brain Tumor Center sees
about 1,000 new adult and pediatric patients with every year.
Doctors say stories like Ojeh’s
are so powerful, not only to raise awareness about symptoms, but also to let
people know about the resources that are available.
In 2017, WRAL News spoke with Duke neurosurgeon Dr. Peter Fecci,
who said the average glioblastoma patient
lives between 13 and 17 months after a diagnosis.
“We actually do have people
here … at Duke that are being treated that are more than 10 years out with
these tumors,” Fecci said in 2017. “So, it does range substantially these days
whereas 10-20 years ago, that wouldn’t have been feasible.”
Glioblastoma claimed the lives of Sens. John McCain,
Edward Kennedy and
the mother of WRAL reporter
Amanda Lamb.
In 2015, CBS’ “60 Minutes” did
a segment on Duke University’s research about
injecting a genetically modified polio
virus directly into a brain tumor. The virus latches onto cancer cells
and activates the body’s immune system to attack the tumor.
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WRAL Documentary “Diagnosis:
Young, The New Face of Cancer in NC”
The WRAL Documentary team has
done extensive reporting on the uptick in younger cancer patients.
The documentary
follows three North Carolinians in their 20s and 30s who
never expected a cancer diagnosis so early in life.