Brain tumour patients asked to donate tissue to biobank
Brain Tumour Awareness Week runs until Saturday, and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland has chosen the occasion to unveil their biobank, which is facilitated by the departments of neurosurgery and neuropathology in Beaumont Hospital and supported by the charity Brain Tumour Ireland.
The project will see patients asked if they are willing to donate any of their tissue which is not needed for diagnostic purposes to the biobank to aid research aimed at increasing survival rates.
Dr Philip O’Halloran, neurosurgical specialist registrar at the National Neurosurgical Centre in Beaumont Hospital and a final year Phd student at the RCSI said they are excited about the possible discoveries that the biobank may yield.
“Beaumont Hospital performs a very large number of brain tumour surgeries annually, this will hopefully advance our understanding of the molecular biology at play in brain tumours,” he said.
Specifically, Dr O’Halloran said patients diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme, which is the commonest primary adult brain tumour, usually live on average for 15 months, even if surgery successfully removes all of the tumour.
“Even if the whole tumour is removed we know there are cells left behind, that we just can’t see. Unlike surgery for breast or colorectal cancers we don’t have the luxury of being able to take resection margins. The primary objective of surgery is to get a diagnosis and to prevent the patient with a post-operative neurological deficit,” he said.
Brain Tumour Ireland depends on donations from the public. Their work is being backed by Ciara Peters, whose father Willie Peters passed away following a tumour.
“Hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, it was maybe Christmas 2015 that he seemed different,” she said.
“He was semi-retired at the time, so we thought maybe he was bored not having a routine. There were no headaches or seizures. The only issue was urgency to use the bathroom; our GP ran blood tests and checked his prostate. The tests came back clear,” she said.
At the end of July 2015, the well-travelled mechanic was on holiday with Ciara’s mother and clipped a number of wing mirrors while driving, something that caused concern and prompted Ciara’s mother to request an MRI scan.
“The public waiting list is currently 12-16 months, which isn’t really acceptable,” said Ciara.
During a scan at a private clinic, Mr Peters’ GP was called and advised to send him to A&E immediately. Ciara said the change was almost immediate.
“On Monday we went to work to arrange leave. When my sister, brother, and I went back to the hospital on Wednesday he was a different person; a combination of disease progression and high doses of steroids.”
The family were told he had a butterfly glioma — a tumour so-called because it spreads to both sides of the brain. It was inoperable.
“We were initially told 12 months, five minutes later the radiation oncologist told us two to three weeks without treatment, three months with. Wanting as long as possible with dad, and for our family and friends to shower him with love he chose treatment. Dad passed away on the January 18, 2016, three months and three days after diagnosis. He would have been 63 on January 21.
“I think it’s very sad for the families who have lost a loved one that in all the years they haven’t seen any significant improvements in survival rates. The biobank is a step in the right direction,” said Ciara.
