Health experts gathered in Corbin to answer community questions about diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, a rare childhood brain cancer — including what’s behind the increase in cases and the search for better treatments.
Here in Corbin, the community has questions about why DIPG develops and whether it can be cured. Six public health panelists tried to provide answers.
DIPG is a rare, aggressive brain tumor that has no cure.
“A child will have persistent vomiting or they’ll have horrible headaches, they’ll stop moving one side. Their parents are really concerned, they take them to the ER,” Dr. Randaline Barnett of UK Pediatric Neurosurgery said.
Children typically survive less than a year. Now, cases in Eastern Kentucky are raising concerns.
“We’ve actually seen a doubling of the number of cases in Kentucky, which is just uh distressing,” Dr. Eric Durbin of the Kentucky Cancer Registry said.
Experts are now looking for possible environmental clues.
“We’d like to look at air, water, soil, increasingly in the last 5 or 6 years we’ve been looking at wastewater,” Dr. Ted Smith of the University of Louisville Division of Environmental Medicine said.
But so far, one researcher says his analysis hasn’t found a connection.
“I’ve seen no association with these cancers,” Dr. Wayne Sanderson of the UK Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center said.
That doesn’t rule one out. Public health officials are seeking federal help to investigate further.
“We have asked assistance, as I mentioned earlier, from ATSDR at the federal level,” Dr. Lori Caloia of the Kentucky Department for Public Health said.
The forum also covered research, clinical trials and support for families.
“These cures do not just happen overnight,” Patrick McSweeney of the Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund said.
