Ex-NBA player with deadly brain cancer turns to Singapore for new treatment
Former National Basketball Association (NBA) centre Jason Collins, who has a deadly form of brain cancer, is undergoing an experimental treatment in Singapore, with those involved in the trial hailing the city state’s reputation as a medical innovation hub. Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US professional sports league, said…
Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US professional sports league, said on Thursday in an ESPN interview that he had stage 4 glioblastoma and was pursuing innovative treatment in a clinic in Singapore, where he got approval “within 48 hours”.
The 47-year-old, who played 13 seasons in the NBA for six teams, told ESPN that the cancer “came on incredibly fast” and that he could die within weeks. Due to the tumour’s genetic makeup, the standard chemotherapy treatment for glioblastoma did not work on his tumour, he said.
The experimental treatment involves a targeted intervention using Australian biopharma company EnGeneIC’s EDV (EnGeneIC Dream Vector) which according to Collins “acts as a Trojan horse, seeking out proteins only found in glioblastomas to deliver its toxic payload past the blood-brain barrier and straight into [his] tumours”.
“It’s really hi-tech, science fiction type stuff, but we’re in the city of the future,” said Collins in an ESPN video from a car in Singapore.
Those involved in the EDV process noted that the clinical trial had not begun and was only available on compassionate grounds.
