Ashya King case

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The case of Ashya King concerns a boy named Ashya King, who had a brain tumour. His parents, Brett and Naghemeh King, took their son out of Southampton General Hospital (England) in August 2014 over a disagreement with doctors regarding his treatment. [1]

Contents

Brain tumor

Ashya had a medulloblastoma, which was successfully removed through surgery on 24 July 2014. He received further neurosurgery on 22 August. [1]

His parents wanted him be treated with proton therapy, which they felt was less harmful than chemotherapy and conventional radiotherapy. [2] [3] At that time, the National Health Service (NHS) did not provide proton therapy in the United Kingdom. However, it has funded treatment abroad since April 2008 where evidence has shown there to be benefit. [4] In this case, the doctors did not support moving the boy so that he could get proton therapy and, in response, on 28 August 2014, the parents took their son out of the hospital without informing the medical team and boarded a ferry to France. [2]

International manhunt and court case

The same day, an international manhunt for Ashya and his parents commenced. [5] and, on 30 August, they were found in Velez Malaga, Spain. The parents were arrested and their son was sent to a local hospital for urgent treatment. [6]

On 2 September 2014, following public outcry against the arrest, then UK prime minister David Cameron called for “an urgent outbreak of common sense” while his deputy said it was not appropriate to “throw the full force of the law” at the couple. [7]

On 3 September 2014, Ashya King's parents were freed from the Spanish prison when the request to extradite them to the United Kingdom was withdrawn. [1] [8] [9]

The issues about treating the boy were brought to the High Court to be resolved, and on 5 September 2014, the court ruled that Ashya could receive proton therapy in Prague. [10] Doctors from Southampton General Hospital said the treatment would have the same side effects as conventional radiotherapy. [10] On 9 September, Ashya arrived at the Proton Therapy Center in Prague, where he underwent proton beam therapy. [1] [5]

Aftermath

In 2015 and 2018, brain scans showed Ashya to be free of cancer. [1] [11] [3] He still has some side effects from the tumour, and is in rehabilitation to improve his speech. [11]

A 2015 report reviewing the case stated that the parents' decision to deny their child chemotherapy had reduced his chances of survival by 30 percent. [12] Reviews also called on health providers to do a better job communicating with parents. [13] [14]

In 2016, following the publication of a prospective phase II trial [15] the NHS decided it would pay for children with medulloblastoma to travel abroad to receive proton therapy. [16] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiation therapy</span> Therapy using ionizing radiation, usually to treat cancer

Radiation therapy or radiotherapy is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle accelerator. Radiation therapy may be curative in a number of types of cancer if they are localized to one area of the body, and have not spread to other parts. It may also be used as part of adjuvant therapy, to prevent tumor recurrence after surgery to remove a primary malignant tumor. Radiation therapy is synergistic with chemotherapy, and has been used before, during, and after chemotherapy in susceptible cancers. The subspecialty of oncology concerned with radiotherapy is called radiation oncology. A physician who practices in this subspecialty is a radiation oncologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brain tumor</span> Neoplasm in the brain

A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary tumors, which most commonly have spread from tumors located outside the brain, known as brain metastasis tumors. All types of brain tumors may produce symptoms that vary depending on the size of the tumor and the part of the brain that is involved. Where symptoms exist, they may include headaches, seizures, problems with vision, vomiting and mental changes. Other symptoms may include difficulty walking, speaking, with sensations, or unconsciousness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">External beam radiotherapy</span> Treatment of cancer with ionized radiation

External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is a form of radiotherapy that utilizes a high-energy collimated beam of ionizing radiation, from a source outside the body, to target and kill cancer cells. A radiotherapy beam is composed of particles which travel in a consistent direction; each radiotherapy beam consists of one type of particle intended for use in treatment, though most beams contain some contamination by other particle types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brachytherapy</span> Type of radiation therapy

Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. Brachy is Greek for short. Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, prostate, breast, esophageal and skin cancer and can also be used to treat tumours in many other body sites. Treatment results have demonstrated that the cancer-cure rates of brachytherapy are either comparable to surgery and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or are improved when used in combination with these techniques. Brachytherapy can be used alone or in combination with other therapies such as surgery, EBRT and chemotherapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proton therapy</span> Medical Procedure

In medicine, proton therapy, or proton radiotherapy, is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often to treat cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy over other types of external beam radiotherapy is that the dose of protons is deposited over a narrow range of depth; hence in minimal entry, exit, or scattered radiation dose to healthy nearby tissues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiosurgery</span> Surgical Specialty

Radiosurgery is surgery using radiation, that is, the destruction of precisely selected areas of tissue using ionizing radiation rather than excision with a blade. Like other forms of radiation therapy, it is usually used to treat cancer. Radiosurgery was originally defined by the Swedish neurosurgeon Lars Leksell as "a single high dose fraction of radiation, stereotactically directed to an intracranial region of interest".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craniopharyngioma</span> Medical condition

A craniopharyngioma is a rare type of brain tumor derived from pituitary gland embryonic tissue that occurs most commonly in children, but also affects adults. It may present at any age, even in the prenatal and neonatal periods, but peak incidence rates are childhood-onset at 5–14 years and adult-onset at 50–74 years. People may present with bitemporal inferior quadrantanopia leading to bitemporal hemianopsia, as the tumor may compress the optic chiasm. It has a point prevalence around two per 1,000,000. Craniopharyngiomas are distinct from Rathke's cleft tumours and intrasellar arachnoid cysts.

Adjuvant therapy, also known as adjunct therapy, adjuvant care, or augmentation therapy, is a therapy that is given in addition to the primary or initial therapy to maximize its effectiveness. The surgeries and complex treatment regimens used in cancer therapy have led the term to be used mainly to describe adjuvant cancer treatments. An example of such adjuvant therapy is the additional treatment usually given after surgery where all detectable disease has been removed, but where there remains a statistical risk of relapse due to the presence of undetected disease. If known disease is left behind following surgery, then further treatment is not technically adjuvant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Marsden Hospital</span> Hospital in London, England

The Royal Marsden Hospital (RM) is a specialist cancer treatment hospital in London based in Kensington and Chelsea, next to the Royal Brompton Hospital, in Fulham Road with a second site in Belmont, close to Sutton Hospital, High Down and Downview Prisons. It is managed by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medulloblastoma</span> Most common type of primary brain cancer in children

Medulloblastoma is a common type of primary brain cancer in children. It originates in the part of the brain that is towards the back and the bottom, on the floor of the skull, in the cerebellum, or posterior fossa.

Southampton General Hospital (SGH) is a large teaching hospital in Southampton, Hampshire, England run by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor</span> Medical condition

An atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a rare tumor usually diagnosed in childhood. Although usually a brain tumor, AT/RT can occur anywhere in the central nervous system (CNS), including the spinal cord. About 60% will be in the posterior cranial fossa. One review estimated 52% in the posterior fossa, 39% are supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors (sPNET), 5% are in the pineal, 2% are spinal, and 2% are multifocal.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises University College Hospital, University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street, the UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre, the Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine and the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metastatic breast cancer</span> Type of cancer

Metastatic breast cancer, also referred to as metastases, advanced breast cancer, secondary tumors, secondaries or stage IV breast cancer, is a stage of breast cancer where the breast cancer cells have spread to distant sites beyond the axillary lymph nodes. There is no cure for metastatic breast cancer; there is no stage after IV.

Professor Minesh P. Mehta, MD, FASTRO, is an American radiation oncologist and physician-scientist of Indian origin, Ugandan birth, Zambian Schooling and American Training, who contributed to the field of oncology for more than two and half decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diffuse midline glioma</span> Highly aggressive brain tumor, mostly found in children

Diffuse midline glioma, H3 K27-altered (DMG) is a fatal tumour that arises in midline structures of the brain, most commonly the brainstem, thalamus and spinal cord. When located in the pons it is also known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

Docrates Cancer Center is the first and currently the only private hospital in the Nordic countries that comprehensively specialises in cancer treatment. It operates in Helsinki, Finland. It characterises its operations as those complementing the public sector. Docrates Oy was established in 2006 and the hospital started its operations at the premises of Eira Hospital in autumn 2007. It moved to its own premises in Jätkäsaari, Helsinki, in 2009, where it has hospital rights. There is a ward and Health and Recovery Center located at Docrates Cancer Center. Among other things, diagnostics, pharmacotherapy, radiation therapy and isotopic treatments are carried out at the hospital. Cancer surgeries are performed in partner hospitals. Docrates also participates in clinical trials and the testing and development of new treatments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childhood cancer</span> Medical condition

Childhood cancer is cancer in a child. About 80% of childhood cancer cases in high-income countries, can be successfully treated thanks to modern medical treatments and optimal patient care. However, only about 10% of children diagnosed with cancer reside in high-income countries where the necessary treatments and care is available. Childhood cancer represents only about 1% of all types of cancers diagnosed in children and adults. For this reason, childhood cancer is often ignored in control planning, contributing to the burden of missed opportunities for its diagnoses and management in countries that are low- and mid-income.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust</span> UK public sector healthcare provider

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is an NHS Foundation Trust, which specialises in the treatment of cancer. The centre is one of several specialist hospitals located within Merseyside; alongside Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool Women's Hospital, and the Walton Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Svedberg Laboratory</span>

The The Svedberg Laboratory (TSL) is a university facility, based in Uppsala, Sweden. The activities at TSL are based around the particle accelerator Gustaf Werner cyclotron.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Brain tumour boy Ashya King free of cancer, parents say". BBC News . 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 O'Brien, A.; Sokol, D. K. (10 September 2014). "Lessons from the Ashya King case". British Medical Journal . 349: g5563. doi:10.1136/bmj.g5563. PMID   25209621. S2CID   206903368.
  3. 1 2 Adams, Joel (3 March 2018). "Ashya King cleared of cancer three years after his parents abducted him from hospital for treatment abroad". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "'NHS England: NHS Commissioning: Highly Specialised Services: Proton beam therapy'" . Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Ashya King's father says U.K. boy cancer-free after Prague treatment that led to manhunt". CBC News . 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Khomami, Nadia (30 August 2014). "Parents arrested as missing Ashya King found by police in Spain". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Ashya King case could lead to families rejecting NHS advice, doctors warn". the Guardian. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  8. ↑ Judgment and Family Court Orders in the matter of Ashya King
  9. ↑ "Ashya King's parents freed from Spanish prison". BBC News. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 Boseley, Sarah (5 September 2014). "Ashya King given legal go-ahead for cancer treatment in Prague". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Ashya King 'is cancer free and back at school' says dad three years after brain tumour treatment row". Mirror. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Ashya King's parents hit back at report which claims they 'reduced his survival chances by 30 per cent'". The Daily Telegraph . 19 July 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Ashya King's removal from hospital 'put him at risk', report finds". BBC News . 23 September 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  14. ↑ Cowburn, Ashley (24 September 2015). "Parents of Ashya King put him at risk, report says". The Guardian . Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Yock, T.; et al. (29 January 2016). "Long-term toxic effects of proton radiotherapy for paediatric medulloblastoma: a phase 2 single-arm study". The Lancet Oncology . 17 (3): 287–298. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(15)00167-9. PMID   26830377.
  16. ↑ "Proton beam therapy 'effective' and 'causes fewer side effects'". NHS . 1 February 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
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