Parel doctors shrink foetal heart tumours by treating pregnant mother with drug
Doctors at Wadia Hospital in Parel have successfully shrunk multiple heart tumours and brain nodules in an unborn foetus by administering an oral anti-cancer drug to the pregnant mother, leading to the birth of a baby boy on June 18. The 38-year-old mother, Sevanti, a resident of Jogeshwari, was treated with the drug Everolimus during her pregnancy after scans revealed her unborn baby had five growing tumours in the heart and nodules in the brain.
Reaching the 24th week of pregnancy was a major milestone for Sevanti, who had previously suffered three early miscarriages. Upon learning of the tumours, she refused an amniocentesis test that would confirm the underlying genetic disorder, urging doctors to focus instead on saving her child.
The hospital's newly formed foetal medicine team suspected the foetus had tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder associated with multiple heart tumours, known as rhabdomyomas, and brain nodules. One of the tumours had grown large enough to obstruct blood flow from the foetal heart.
To treat the condition, obstetrician Dr. Pooja Bandekar and foetal medicine specialist Dr. Vandana Bansal, who treated Sevanti from her 20th week of pregnancy, decided to administer Everolimus to the mother. The team reviewed published reports before initiating the treatment, which allowed the drug to cross the placenta and reach the foetus.
Because Everolimus can significantly raise cholesterol levels, the treatment required close monitoring. Sevanti underwent regular blood tests to monitor drug and cholesterol levels, while weekly scans tracked the baby’s condition. The treatment successfully prolonged the pregnancy to the 36th week.
On June 18, Sevanti gave birth to a 2.5-kg baby boy. Two post-birth echocardiograms confirmed that the tumours shrank before delivery and have not grown since. Foetal cardiologist Dr. Shreepal Jain stated that the tumours have stopped growing and doctors expect them to continue regressing and disappear as the child grows older.
Wadia Hospital CEO Dr. Minnie Bodhanwala stated that this is possibly Mumbai’s first reported case where maternal treatment with Everolimus was successfully used to shrink foetal cardiac rhabdomyomas.
