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A 37-year-old Nigerian-born doctor based in the United States identified as Chibawanye Ene has won the 2019 Ronald L Bittner Award on brain tumor research.
A quarterly journal on cancer titled Applied Radiation Oncology stated that Ene received the award at the 2019 American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) annual scientific meeting which held from April 13 to April 17 in San Diego, US.
Ene, who hails from Akpugo in Nkanu West local government area of Enugu state, won the award with his research work titled: “Anti-PD-L1 Immunotherapy Enhances Radiation-induced Abscopal Response in Glioblastoma”.
It was reported that Glioblastoma is an aggressive form of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord. Glioblastoma symptoms ranges from headaches to personality changes, nausea, and incontinence. Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps immune system fight cancer. This type of cancer treatment is said to have been largely unsuccessful in the treatment of Glioblastoma.
The journal stated that the molecular structure of the tumor found in that form of cancer only allows few of the cancerous cells to be eliminated during treatment. Promise for better treatment options was shown in the new findings in Ene’s research, which revealed that “radiation combined with Anti PD L1 therapy induces an immunological response to unirradiated glioblastoma”.
The journal said: “The researchers are currently optimizing other treatment combinations that could also be readily assessed in phase I human clinical trials.”
