Miraculous Recovery: Father Diagnosed With Stage 4 Brain Cancer at 27 Beat the Odds to Reach Remission — Twice

Living With Brain Cancer

• A North Carolina man diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma twice defied the slim odds of not just long-term survival but reaching remission.
• The National Cancer Institute says the five-year survival rate averages 6% for this type of brain cancer, with those likely not reaching remission. However, some cancers may be managed with treatment for a period of time.
• Brain tumors do not always cause symptoms, but they can impact a person’s brain function and overall health, depending on the size, type, and location of the brain.
• Brain tumors (malignant and benign) may cause symptoms such as difficulty walking, headaches, confusion, personality changes, vision changes, memory loss, and more.
• Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive cancerous brain tumor in adults. It is tricky to treat because its cells are heterogeneous, meaning each must be individually targeted to slow tumor growth. Despite this treatment challenge, ongoing research still aims to improve the quality of life for patients.

A North Carolina father is a living miracle, having survived two brain cancer diagnoses. He's now living in remission. Brian Anderson was 27 years old when he first started experiencing symptoms that would lead to a stage 4 glioblastoma diagnosis. Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive cancerous brain tumor in adults. This type of brain tumor is tricky to treat due to how it grows. The five-year survival rate for glioblastoma patients is relatively low, which makes Anderson’s case unique. Anderson says his brain cancer symptoms began in 2009 when he started experiencing headaches.

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He then started experiencing other symptoms, including vision loss, mental confusion, and memory problems. These abnormalities prompted a doctor’s visit, which gave him answers. “I did the MRI, and when I got out, the text, it was obvious that something was wrong, found out it was stage 4 glioblastoma,” Anderson told WXII News. After undergoing treatment, his symptoms subsided for a period of time. However, in 2020, his cancer returned. After undergoing additional treatment, Anderson was able to do the unthinkable and something a small number of patients diagnosed with glioblastoma ever get to achieve: reach remission. While still receiving regular check-ups to monitor the cancer currently in remission, Anderson now shares his cancer journey to help people battling brain cancer better cope. While incredibly remarkable, specific details on Anderson’s brain cancer treatment remain unclear. While glioblastoma is a difficult to treat disease, there are treatment options that can manage it for a time and there's ongoing research looking into how to improve quality of life for patients.

Making Sense of a Brain Tumor Diagnosis

According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), brain tumors account for 85-90% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. They can either be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign), and depending on where the tumor forms on the brain, doctors determine its type, potential symptoms, and potential treatment. WATCH: Debunking 5G Claims Causing Brain Cancer.

Signs and Symptoms of Brain Tumors

Brain tumors impact a person’s brain function and overall health, depending on their size, type, and location within the brain. Tumors that grow big enough and disrupt normal central nervous system functioning can press on nearby nerves, blood vessels, or other tissues. The disrupted central nervous system can present in various ways, making walking or maintaining balance difficult. However, it’s important to know that brain tumors do not always cause symptoms. Other signs of brain tumors may include:

• Headaches
• Difficulty speaking or thinking
• Weakness
• Behavioral changes
• Vision changes
• Seizures
• Loss of hearing
• Confusion
• Memory loss
• Treatments for Brain Tumors

Treatment options for brain cancer depend on a variety of factors, including the size and type of the tumor as well as the grade of the tumor. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are options doctors use to treat brain tumors. Cancer warriors are encouraged to talk to their doctor about their situation and the best treatment options. The prognosis for brain cancer, or how likely it is to be cured, depends on a few things, including:

• The type of brain tumor
• How fast the brain tumor is growing
• The tumor’s location
• If there are DNA changes in the cells of the brain tumor
• If the entire tumor can be removed with surgery
• Your overall health

Your doctor will be able to help you understand your specific and unique circumstances and how they relate to your prognosis.

Types of Cancerous and Non-cancerous Brain Tumors

A brain tumor can affect you differently depending on its location and if it is cancerous. Some brain tumors are non-cancerous (or benign). According to the National Cancer Institute, some examples of these types of brain tumors include:

• Chordomas are primarily benign and slow-growing and are often found near the tailbone or where the spine meets the skull.
• Craniopharyngiomas are rare, slow-growing tumors that don’t spread to other parts of the brain or body. They form near the pituitary gland near the base of the brain.
• Gangliocytomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system that tend to form on the temporal lobe (the left or right side of the brain).
• Glomus jugulare are rare and slow-growing tumors.
• Meningiomas are rare brain tumors that usually form on the outer layer of tissue that covers the brain (dura mater).
• Pineocytomas are rare and slow-growing tumors located in the pineal gland near the middle of the brain.
• Pituitary adenomas are slow-growing brain tumors of the anterior pituitary located in the lower part of the brain.
• Schwannomas are rare tumors that grow on the cells that protect nerve cells. They are called Schwann cells.
• Acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannoma) are slow-growing tumors that develop from the nerves that help balance and hearing.

Other brain tumors are malignant or cancerous. These kinds of tumors include:

• Gliomas are the most common form of cancerous and aggressive primary brain tumors.
• Astrocytoma (glioma) forms in astrocytes (star-shaped cells). Depending on how aggressive or fast they grow and impact brain tissue, these tumors are classified into four grades.
• Ependymomas are tumors classified into three grades depending on how aggressive or fast they grow.
• Oligodendroglioma tumors are classified into grades depending on their growth speed. Grade 2 oligodendroglioma tumors are slow-growing and can invade nearby tissue, but they may not present symptoms for many years before detection. Meanwhile, grade 3 oligodendroglioma tumors proliferate.
• Medulloblastoma tumors are classified into four different grades depending on their aggressive nature or how quickly they grow.
• Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive brain tumor in adults. We explain this form of brain tumor in more detail below.

Better Understanding Glioblastoma Tumors

Glioblastoma is considered a central nervous system (CNS) tumor. According to the National Cancer Institute, the average survival rate is 15 months with treatment and less than six if left untreated. Glioblastomas are tricky to treat and manage because their cells are heterogeneous, meaning each must be individually targeted to slow tumor growth. Surgery cannot remove all the cancer because the tumor burrows into the brain, so the tumor starts to grow again immediately after surgery. Glioblastoma risk factors can include:

• Prior radiation exposure
• Gender: men are more likely to get glioblastoma than women
• Age: people 50 years or older are more likely to be diagnosed
• Certain genetic syndromes, including neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, von Hippel-Lindau disease

Symptoms for glioblastoma can vary depending on the area of the brain where the tumor begins and spreads and its growth rate, according to MD Anderson Cancer Center. But common symptoms of glioblastoma can include:

• Headaches
• Seizures
• Changes in mental function, mood, or personality
• Changes in speech
• Sensory changes in hearing, smell, and sight
• Loss of balance
• Changes in your pulse and breathing rate

Clinical Trials for Glioblastoma Treatment Show Promise

Researchers have made progress using CAR T-cell Therapy, a cancer treatment that re-engineers the immune system to target cancer. More specifically, researchers used a CAR T-cell therapy variant called CAR-TEAM. It’s designed to be “directly injected into the patient’s brain” by targeting a protein often found in glioblastomas called EGFR. Although the clinical trial phase for this treatment is far from complete, it presents an opportunity for further exploration of treating glioblastoma. The results of the clinical trial showed significant tumor regression among patients. “These results are exciting, but they are also just the beginning—they tell us that we are on the right track in pursuing a therapy that can potentially change the outlook for this intractable disease. We haven’t cured patients yet, but that is our audacious goal,” Dr. Marcela Maus , director of the Cellular Immunotherapy Program at the Mass General Cancer Center, said. As the clinical trial continues, the team of researchers hopes to find ways to prolong the CAR-TEAM cell treatment’s effectiveness, as two of the three patients experienced a relapse after some time.