Ex-NBA player in S'pore for experimental cancer treatment, calls it 'city of the future'

Jason Collins, a former National Basketball Association player, is in Singapore to receive an experimental treatment for late-stage brain cancer, it was reported on Dec. 11.

Collins called the treatment “high-tech science fiction stuff” and Singapore “the city of the future”.

City of the future

The South China Morning Post reports that Collins is in Singapore to undergo a novel experimental treatment for his brain cancer by Australian biopharma company EnGeneIC’s called EDV (EnGeneIC Dream Vector).

Collins, in an interview with ESPN, called the treatment “really high-tech, science fiction type stuff”, adding that “we’re in the city of the future, so let’s do some future stuff”.

He said that under conventional treatment available in his home country, the United States, his prognosis was about 13 months, which made the decision to seek out experimental treatment “easy”.

Collins said that Singapore had approved him for the experimental treatment within 48 hours, which the SCMP said had taken place under Singapore’s compassionate use framework.

EDV is due to undergo trials in Singapore, but at the time of writing, the trial has not yet formally started.​

Collins was sanguine about his chances of recovery, acknowledging that the treatment might not ultimately save his life, but that even if the treatment did not save him, “I feel good thinking that it might help someone else who gets a diagnosis like this one day.”

Compassionate care

The Singapore study is being led by oncologist Choo Su Pin, who told SCMP that the study the treatment was part of did not “differentiate patients by nationality. Foreigners could participate as long as they “committed to staying (in Singapore) for therapy”.

She added that Singapore had the infrastructure and the know-how to ensure quality in trials.

Singapore was chosen by EnGeneIC for trials because of it’s “patient-centric oncologists” as well as the ability to “run tests under compassionate use, especially for those with unmet needs and low survival cancers”.

The EDV treatment was described as akin to a “Trojan horse”, allowing it to kill cancer cells from within.

Of the four Singaporean patients currently on the treatment, three were doing well.

The treatment was being provided at no charge, although patients still had to pay for other aspects of their treatment, such as tests and scans, surgery, hospitalisation, and administrative charges.

When asked if the treatment would be made affordable if the trials were successful, Djeng Shih Kien, CEO of the Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine and EnGeneIC's partner in the Singapore trials, said the treatment would not "be (something where) you die from getting a shock" from its cost.

"We want it to be available. If not, what's the use of making it?"

Late stage

Collins, 47, played in the NBA for 13 years between 2001 and 2014 for teams such as the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Brooklyn Nets, retiring in 2014.

He was also notably the first man to play in the NBS to come out as openly gay.

In December, Collins wrote in U.S. sports publication ESPN, explaining that he was suffering from brain cancer, stage 4 glioblastoma, what it meant, how he found out, and how he intended to fight it for as long as he could.

Collins had gotten married in May, but began to experience worrying symptoms in August, experiencing an abnormal inability to focus, causing him to miss a flight.

Because of this, he undertook a CT scan at a local hospital, but was referred to a specialist within five minutes of starting, and was eventually told that doctors had found a baseball-sized tumour in his brain.​

The tumour was so aggressive that if left untreated, it could have doubled in size in weeks.

​Collins expects to be in Singapore for treatment for seven to eight weeks, and it is not known how long he has already been in Singapore for.​

However, in a Dec. 1 social media post where Collins publicly acknowledging his cancer, he showed that he was taking a brief break from treatment by visiting a resort in Bintan with his spouse.

Top image via Brooklyn Nets/Facebook