When little Sophie Harper began throwing up frequently, a medical professional thought it was an infection.
But months later on, she began to lose her capability to stroll – and a health center scan revealed a kind of brain tumour called medulloblastoma.
A seven-and-a-half hour operation followed, and it had significant adverse effects.
Now, with financing from The Brain Tumour Charity, Cambridge scientists are pioneering book, minimally intrusive methods for the medical diagnosis of medulloblastoma, which might help some kids prevent such surgical treatment.
Medulloblastoma is the most typical malignant youth brain tumour, representing 15-20 percent of all such medical diagnoses. About 52 kids are detected with a medulloblastoma each year in the UK.
These fast-growing tumours establish at the back of the brain in the cerebellum, and there are 4 sub-types.
Dr Jessica Taylor, a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Cambridge operating in Professor Richard Gilbertson’s lab at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, will concentrate on among them – wingless (WNT) medulloblastoma.
This is normally hard to run on, however is extremely treatable with chemotherapy and radiation.
A Future Leaders award from The Brain Tumour Charity will allow Dr Taylor to check out a brand-new technique of determining WNT medulloblastoma without intrusive surgical treatment to safeguard kids from the possible long-lasting harmful results it can have, such as memory issues and speech problems.
Antibodies developed to bind to the WNT-medulloblastoma cells will be utilized, so that they show up on a family pet scan to help detect the condition.
Dr Taylor is utilizing a technique of mapping the surface area proteins on tumour cells to create these identified antibodies that bind to cancer-specific receptors however prevent healthy ones.
The scientists will likewise create these antibodies to bind to drugs that might treat WNT-medulloblastoma, which might provide treatments straight to the tumour and possibly change the requirement for more conventional chemotherapy.
That would provide clients an extra treatment alternative and provide a more targeted treatment, possibly lowering adverse effects.
John Huggins, the grandpa of Sophie Harper, understands how important that might be.
Sophie was detected with medulloblastoma in 2006.
John said: “Until the age of 19 months, Sophie seemed to be a normally developing little girl. She walked at 11 months and her speech was well ahead of her age. From 19 months she started to vomit regularly and when her mother took her to the doctors on day four, he diagnosed a virus. After 10 days my daughter returned to the doctor, but again he said it was a virus. Sophie was taken to the doctor a number of times over the next two and a half months and there was no change with the doctor’s diagnosis.
“Sophie then started to lose her ability to walk. No longer was she the happy child, she was complaining of head pain, started falling over regularly and wanting to be carried around. It was only then the doctor agreed for Sophie to have a scan.”
A scan at Norwich University Hospital revealed a mass on her cerebellum and Sophie was moved for more tests to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where a medulloblastoma tumour was validated.
John said: “None of us had any knowledge of brain tumours and it became a huge learning curve. At that point mum and dad had to decide whether to take the option of curative or palliative care. Sophie always had a big personality and was such a fighter with any illness, so mum and dad decided they had to give her the tools to fight with and take the curative option.”
The next week, the operation occurred and the family waited anxiously in the garden of Addenbrooke’s. The operation was anticipated to last around 3 to 4 hours, however Sophie remained in surgical treatment for 7 and a half.
John said: “Sophie didn’t regain consciousness for 32 days, due to the insult to her brain. She spent three months in intensive care and was now needing an oxygen supplement and having to be fed through a gastrostomy tube. Both of these would stay for the next six years of her life.
“It also became clear that there were other side effects from the operation: her speech was significantly impacted and she was unable to hold our gaze and her movements were unco-ordinated and clumsy. During the time of her treatment she received more than a hundred transfusions of blood products due to low blood cell counts, but none of us can remember a single day when she didn’t make us laugh or brighten our day. She had an amazing ability to do that.
“It is true to say surgery had a dramatic effect on Sophie. She was no longer the child we knew before the operation.”
Devastating news came right before Sophie’s 8th birthday, when a scan revealed another development on her brain.
She was offered 3 months to live, however made it through almost a year and passed away soon prior to her ninth birthday in 2013.
Sophie’s family then established The Sophie Elin Harper Fund with The Brain Tumour Charity to raise funds and awareness of brain tumours. So far, they have actually raised an exceptional £38,000.
John said: “The side effects Sophie had following surgery, with the insult to her brain, were huge and totally life-changing.
“Sophie lived a very cruel life, in and out of hospital. Even the shunt fitted in her brain had to be replaced on three occasions. She never regained the ability to walk, and was always fed through a gastrostomy tube, together with an oxygen supplement, but she never complained.
“The possibility of avoiding side effects and unnecessary surgery would be a real turning point in the treatment of medulloblastoma.”
Dr Taylor said: “Over 50 children in the UK are diagnosed with medulloblastoma every year and ensuring that these children get the best treatment is of paramount importance to ensure they have a good quality of life.
“We know that WNT- medulloblastoma is difficult to resect surgically, but responds well to standard of care treatment. We hope that our research can avoid unnecessary surgeries in the future.
“With one in four children with this tumour type suffering long-term memory loss and speech issues after surgery, it is important that we work towards improving diagnostic methods which avoid surgery.
“I hope my research will change the way medulloblastoma is clinically diagnosed and that it will improve the treatment and quality of life for children diagnosed with this disease.”
Dr David Jenkinson, primary clinical officer at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “Our Future Leaders are the next generation of brain tumour researchers. Their innovative ideas and determination to find a cure will drive us closer to improving the lives of those diagnosed with a brain tumour.”
