A Fox News host has died from an aggressive brain cancer that is expected to increase in the coming years.
Dr. Kelly Powers, a podiatrist and Fox News medical contributor, died last week after a four-year battle with glioblastoma, a brain cancer that kills three out of four patients in less than a year.
The 45-year-old New Jersey man was diagnosed in 2020 and went into remission the following year. However, earlier this year, the cancer returned and did not respond to treatment.
The mother of one had also suffered several other scares before the diagnosis, including being diagnosed with gallbladder and heart disease at just 39 years old.
Dr. Powers is one of 10,000 Americans who die from glioblastoma each year, including Senator John McCain and Beau Biden.
The cancer, which most often forms in the frontal lobe of the brain, typically affects adults over 70, as age-related cell damage leaves them more prone to cancer-causing mutations.
However, experts have warned that glioblastoma is increasing in all age groups, with rates expected to rise by almost three-quarters in the coming years.
Although doctors are not quite sure what is behind the increase, radiation, pollution and exposure to chemicals such as pesticides have been suspected.
Dr. Kelly Powers, pictured here with her husband and son, died last week of glioblastoma, years after also suffering from gallbladder and heart diseases.
Dr. Powers was first diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2020 and went into remission in 2021. However, when the cancer returned earlier this year, she was out of treatments.
Dr. Powers had begun suffering from frequent headaches in 2020 when she finally suffered a grand mal seizure, the most serious type.
In an interview with Favorite health magazineShe said her father found her passed out on the floor foaming at the mouth.
She was rushed in for a CT scan, which revealed the tumor and required emergency surgery.
Dr. Powers underwent three brain surgeries, as well as chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.
During the first operation, the doctors even told her that her surrogate mother was pregnant with her son, who is now three years old.
Dr. Powers went into remission in 2021, although the cancer returned earlier this year and the last remaining treatment was only available in Germany. It is not clear what type of therapy this was.
Glioblastoma is most commonly found in the frontal lobe, which is responsible for personality, movement, language, and impulse control, among other functions.
The average survival rate is only 15 months and the tumor often does not respond to traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.
Cancer affects 15,000 Americans per year and kills 10,000, usually between the ages of 70 and 79.
However, research in Journal of Clinical Oncology predicts that rates will rise from 10,688 in 2010 to 18,466 in 2050, a 72 percent increase. And the team warned that the prediction “may underestimate the true magnitude of the change ahead.”
Some experts have suggested this may be due to a growing population of older adults, nicknamed the ‘Silver Tsunami’ of the United States.
A report released earlier this year, for example, estimated that a record 4.1 million Americans will turn 65 this year, with the increase continuing through 2027.
Senator John McCain (left) and Beau Biden, son of President Joe Biden, died of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that kills most patients within a year.
However, this does not take into account younger patients like Dr. Powers.
Some evidence suggests that increased exposure to pollution and toxic chemicals could be to blame.
TO study 2020for example, evaluated the link between air pollution and chronic brain inflammation.
Researchers found that men who were exposed to benzene, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and synthetic fibers, were more likely to develop brain cancers such as glioblastomas than those with less exposure to the chemical.
Brain inflammation causes immune cells to release cytokines, which damage DNA and inhibit mechanisms intended to suppress tumors.
A study published earlier this year in the journal Medicine He also suggested that glioblastomas thrive in highly inflammatory environments, as inflammation disrupts the blood-brain barrier and allows the cancer to spread faster and become resistant to treatments.
Air pollution has also been linked to glioblastoma.
In 2019, a study It found that ultrafine particles produced by burning fuel, such as driving a car, increased the risk of brain cancer by up to 50 percent in people in big cities like Toronto, compared with more rural areas.
Some evidence also suggests that rising diseases such as heart disease could also be to blame.
Additionally, experts at Moffitt Cancer Center point to ionizing radiation as the culprit. This is a form of radiation used in medical imaging such as CT scans, which have become more common in recent decades to diagnose conditions.
Experts noted that this radiation could create breaks in DNA strands, which could reduce the risk of cancer-causing mutations.
The graph above, from a 2020 study in the journal Cureus, shows the increase in glioblastoma cases from 2008 to 2017.
The graph above shows how gallstones could lead to heart disease, which has then been linked to brain cancers such as glioblastoma.
Prior to her brain cancer diagnosis, Dr. Powers learned she had heart and gallbladder disease in 2018, which led to her needing to have her gallbladder removed.
The gallbladder stores bile, a fluid produced by the liver that helps break down fats during digestion.
Conditions such as high cholesterol and obesity can cause the liver to excrete more bile than the body can dissolve, causing the bile to crystallize and form gallstones.
Gallstones can contribute to heart disease by disrupting the secretion of bile acids.
TO recent study A study of more than 270,000 Americans, for example, suggested that when too much bile acid is secreted, harmful bacteria can form in the gut microbiome that promote inflammation and plaque buildup in the arteries.
According to a study published last yearThe buildup of plaque in the arteries that causes heart disease triggers inflammation throughout the body, including the brain.
Dr. Powers’ family created a GoFundMe to cover medical costs before his death.