This story, on a novel approach to infusing chemotherapy for a brain tumor, just goes to show what a careful, engaged reporter can accomplish when given sufficient time and space to write a story.
As the story’s ratings show, the reporter follows all health reporting best practices.
But the story accomplishes a great deal more. Starting with a single patient’s experience in a trial of a novel cancer treatment, the reporter illuminates the function of the blood-brain barrier; the nature of a deadly brain tumor recently in the news; the structure of clinical trials; some recent advances in chemotherapy; and the nuances of the patient-researcher relationship.
The reporter also manages to humanize the patient and locate the disease in a family’s life, without getting mawkish or exploitive.
It’s the kind of story that leaves one with hope–that quality health journalism does still exist.
Costs of the treatment were not mentioned. But we can understand that in an article about an experimental approach so far from clinical use.
With only a Phase I study underway, there is no data to report. The story makes this clear.
The story explains that the infusion method has not been proven safe–indeed, that’s what the current study is designed to find out.
In addition, the reporter cites the doctor’s estimated risks of the treatment the featured patient faces: a 5 percent chance of becoming "visibly weak" and a 1 percent chance of left-side paralysis.
The story plainly discloses that there is no evidence that the procedure treats glioblastoma successfully. (Although the anecdotes about spots on MRIs "melting away" did suggest efficacy. This was potentially misleading as they may recur in the vast majority of cases.)
The article describes glioblastoma’s deadliness with facts and data rather than appeals to emotion. The language is in some places dramatic but not inappropriately so.
The reporter draws on three principal sources: two physicians involved with the research and an independent expert on glioblastoma from NIH.
The story describes the conventional treatments for glioblastoma–surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy via pill or IV.
The story makes very clear that the approach described is experimental and not clinically available. It is the subject of a Phase I trial of 30 patients.
The novelty of this approach to glioblastomas is implicit: The featured patient is only the second to receive the treatment.
The story also explains that the studied method of infusion uses an existing drug in a novel way.
There is no evidence that the story relied on a news release.
Systematic, Criteria-Driven
Monday at #ADA2021, an infectious disease epidemiologist, a journalist, and a researcher shared perspectives on communication of risk in the era of COVID-19: http://ow.ly/ROfR30rMeE7 @AstleyCM @garyschwitzer @berthahidalgo @ADA_DiabetesPro
Shoutouts to @susan_bewley @drkevinknopf @MichaelBaum11 in this call for more than fawning coverage from press releases for these kinds of stories.
Also, linked history inside goes back 5 years just on Grail apparently trying to become Holy Grail. https://twitter.com/garyschwitzer/status/1408849696416841731
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