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Kevin renderman brain tumor6/25/2023 ![]() Systemic cancers most likely to metastasize to the CNS include lung cancer, melanoma, and breast cancer. It's a constant reminder how far he's come. Brain tumors are a diverse group of neoplasms arising from different cells within the central nervous system (CNS) or from systemic cancers that have metastasized to the CNS. The irony of it all is that every time Kevin takes the mound at Penn, he does it in the shadows of CHOP, where he had his procedure and all of his appointments. Looking back on it, you kind of get the perspective like I'm pretty lucky that I have what I have," Kevin said. "If my tumor was any different or malignant, there was really nothing they'd be able to do. He's made a full recovery and today, he's one of the best freshman on the University of Pennsylvania's baseball team. So the Monroeville, New Jersey native still lives with the tumor in his head. ![]() Thankfully, the tumor was benign, but it was also inoperable because of its location. "We had a perfectly healthy, happy kid playing baseball on a Sunday and by Friday, he was having brain surgery and hole drilled in the top of his head," Kevin's mother Debbie Eaise said. The 10-year-old boy immediately had brain surgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Within a week, doctors discovered a tumor. Nearly nine years ago, during a Vineland Little League game, he began seeing double. After leukemia, tumors of the brain and spine are the second most common form of cancer in children. PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) - University of Pennsylvania pitcher Kevin Eaise remembers the day his world was thrown into a panic in the blink of an eye. ![]() Jeff Skversky has more on Action News at 6 p.m. Learn more about brain cancer care at UConn Health.UPenn baseball player living with brain tumor hoping to help others. UConn Health will share additional details about the research, including information on eligibility requirements and how patients can participate, later this year. “UConn Health’s involvement in this very promising trial affirms our standing as a world-class institution for clinical care and research in neuro-oncology.” Ketan Bulsara, chief of UConn Health’s Division of Neurosurgery. Becker’s leadership, and it is also a tribute to the great multidisciplinary team that has been created through the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center and our Brain and Spine Institute,” says Dr. “To be selected as one of a handful of sites in the world for this trial is truly a tribute to Dr. The investigators believe the one-two punch of therapies may be able to generate “a potent and specific anti-tumor response” in patients with recurrent malignant glioblastoma, a type of aggressive and often fatal brain tumor. LUMINOS-101 is how Istari Oncology is branding this clinical trial. (Images provided by Istari Oncology, Inc.) The therapy used, known as PVSRIPO, is being studied in combination with the cancer immunotherapy pembrolizumab, with UConn Health among a select few sites for this phase of the clinical trial. ![]() This is truly a landmark trial for patients with recurrent glioblastomas.” Comparative brain scans show the difference in tumor size from before infusion to 25 months after infusion. “We are extremely honored to be one of only a few selected sites for the LUMINOS-101 trial. Kevin Becker, director of neuro-oncology and UConn Health’s primary investigator for this trial. “This is a tremendous example of the innovative trials we envision as we build our neuro-oncology program at UConn,” says Dr. Istari Oncology, Inc., the North Carolina-based biotechnology company sponsoring the research, has selected UConn Health as a site for this phase of the trial. It is also being studied across a range of cancers including melanoma, for which the FDA has granted “orphan drug status.” Food and Drug Administration for recurrent glioblastoma. PVSRIPO has been granted “breakthrough therapy designation” from the U.S. The rationale for studying these agents in combination is evidence that indicates these drugs work synergistically to activate the immune system to fight cancer. The therapy combines what researchers are calling PVSRIPO, a viral immunotherapy based on the polio vaccine, with pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug shown to be effective in treating many other types of cancers, marketed under the brand name Keytruda. ‘This is a tremendous example of the innovative trials we envision as we build our neuro-oncology program at UConn.’ -Dr. As a promising new therapy for certain brain tumors reaches the second phase of clinical trials, UConn Health will be one of the select few locations in the United States to make this treatment available to patients during the further evaluation of its safety and efficacy.
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