Family Medicine & Medical Science Research
Open Access

Abstract

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: Retrospective Case Study of a 19-Year-Old Male at a Kentucky Rural Clinic

Radwa Clarissa Omar*

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a proliferative brain tumor that is aggressive in nature and rapid growing. DIPG predominantly affects the pons, a part of the brain stem that is responsible for regulating vital physiologic functions such as breathing, heart rate and hemodynamic stability. In the United States, about 300 children are diagnosed with DIPG each year, affecting children between 5 and 10 years of age, but may occur in younger populations and in some cases, teenage populations. DIPGs typically have a lethal prognosis due to the inability to surgically resect tumors safely, and current drug and radiation therapies ultimately being ineffective. Survival rates from high-grade brain stem tumors in childhood remains very poor, with one estimate approximating that only four in ten young pediatric patients diagnosed with a DIPG will live one year after diagnosis. This case study exposes a rare case of DIPG in a 19-year-old male at a rural health clinic.

Published Date: 2024-06-25; Received Date: 2024-05-23