In the St. Jude Brain Tumor Clinic, thirteen-year-old Olivia Thatcher greets her neuro-oncologist, Ibrahim Qaddoumi, MD, MS, with a high-five and “hello friend!” 

“Dr. Qaddoumi is my friend. He put me on this drug because he knew it would help me, and I’m pretty sure he had this feeling that it was going to work. That makes him my friend,” Olivia says. 

But finding the right treatment for Olivia’s brain tumor has been a long road.  

When Olivia was diagnosed with a pilocytic astrocytoma — a type of slow-growing brain tumor classified as a low-grade glioma — at age eight, her family was hopeful she would respond to treatment. But the tumor grew despite rounds of chemotherapy and proton therapy. As a result, Olivia lost her mobility, and the Thatchers were at a loss. 

“Our options were getting slimmer,” recalls Olivia’s mom, Amanda. 

But research from the laboratories at St. Jude had been laying the groundwork for a clinical trial that would soon open - giving Olivia another option.  

After genetic screening of her tumor confirmed she was eligible, Olivia enrolled in SJ901 — a clinical trial for relapsed or progressive pediatric low-grade gliomas. SJ901 is testing a drug that targets a specific genetic mutation present in her type of brain tumor. 

“To get a targeted drug? We’ve been waiting for this. We’ve been praying for this,” says her dad, Chris.  

For Olivia, her experience on this clinical trial is different than her previous treatment with chemotherapy and proton radiation. “To me, it just feels normal,” she says. Best of all, the tumor’s response to the new treatment has been positive. The metastatic growth is slowly disappearing, and her tumor has begun to shrink.  

The positive response allowed Olivia to return to school, where she is starting the eighth grade and planning her first full year of classes and extracurricular activities since she was diagnosed.   

With the targeted treatment, Amanda says they can “do so much living in the now.” With a stable, effective treatment regimen, they can turn their focus to living in the present moment more than worrying about the tumor. The family can plan for future events and maybe even has a trip or two in mind. 

For Qaddoumi, witnessing a positive response to treatment and seeing the effect it has on his friend Olivia and her family, “makes this work worth it,” he says.