7-year-old's stem cells help him fight Burkitt's Lymphoma relapse

Battling with a relapse of a rare type of cancer, it was seven-year-old Vedant Jangid's own stem cells that helped save his life.

Vedant was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma, a cancer which usually affects children, in October 2015. Following the detection of cancer in his stomach, he underwent multiple cycles of chemotherapy in a hospital in his hometown Indore. However, the cancer relapsed within a few months and this time, it was detected in his stomach and his leg. Vedant had to drop out of Class 2 and come with his family to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, for treatment.

Vendant was once again prescribed chemotherapy. His treating doctor, Dr Santanu Sen, Consultant Haemato-oncologist and bone marrow transplant physician, said, "We had four high-dose chemotherapy sessions with him to get rid of the tumour. We had to remove the tumours in his stomach and his leg. Vedant responded well, and after two sessions of chemotherapy, 90 per cent of the tumour was removed, and the rest was treated in the following sessions."

However, this was not the end of the treatment, explains Dr Sen. "Burkitt's Lymphoma is a type of cancer that always tends to come back. Like Vedant, up to 20 per cent of children relapse even after intensive therapy. While the survival rate the first time is a good 80 per cent, it diminishes greatly in the case of a relapse." According to doctors, these children also can be saved by an autologous stem cell transplant.

Dr Sen said, "We knew that unless we did a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT), chances were that the cancer would return. The best way was to use his own healthy stem cells."

Vedant Jangid responded well to the treatment and was discharged on March 22

According to Indian stem cell bank LifeCell, 20 per cent of medical disorders can be treated by one's own stem cells. In medical conditions like neuroblastoma, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, harvesting, and re-infusing one's own stem cells is one of the best treatment options.

"In November, we started collecting stem cells from his body but since he underwent a few chemotherapy sessions, he did not have enough stem cells. It took us a few months to collect his stem cells before the transplant," Dr Sen said.

Vedant was discharged from the hospital after a five-month treatment on March 22. His grandfather, S Jangid says that they chose to treat him in India rather than going to a foreign country as that would have had them wasting time over paperwork. "Vedant is recovering slowly and living his life like every child does. He is a happy boy. He never complained of pain in spite of undergoing so many chemotherapy sessions. We want him to live life to the fullest and spread smiles. His recovery will take a minimum of two to three months, and depending on his health condition, he'll start school again. For now, he spends his time watching cartoons and reading his school textbooks.

WHAT IS BURKITT'S LYMPHOMA?

It is a type of cancer in the lymphatic system. Doctors employ a combination of therapies to treat patients.

Intensive chemotherapy is often used in combination with:

• Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody that sticks to proteins on cancer cells and stimulates the immune system to attack cancer cells
   
• Autologous stem cell transplantation, in which the patient's stem cells are removed, stored, and returned to the body
   
• Radiation therapy
   
• Steroid therapy