NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Physical therapy to help with his degenerative disc. Steroid injections to treat his psoriatic arthritis. One young high school teacher went from doctor to doctor and diagnosis to diagnosis to find out why his bones were breaking but left with more pain than answers.
Two years ago, David Covington didn’t think his back pain and general weakness would turn into him needing a cane at 27. He even had a hard time with household chores.
Covington told Ivanhoe, “I couldn’t get the lawn mower started and it was just a pull and I wasn’t strong enough to pull it on.”
Doctors did a full body scan on Covington and found he had several stress fractures throughout his body.
“That was kind of where I really felt that ‘Oh maybe this is something more serious than just back pain,’” Covington said.
After two orthopedists, a rheumatologist, and months of treatments, Covington’s condition worsened, and he became so weak that he was falling. Then an endocrinologist at Vanderbilt University said a tumor in his brain may be the culprit.
“A rare problem called TIO, which stands for tumor-induced osteomalacia, so tumors causing breakdown of bone,” Reid Thompson, MD, professor of neurological surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center said.
Covington was referred to neurosurgeon Thompson who at first thought it was a benign tumor.
“If you ask most neurosurgeons who specialize in brain tumors what it is that you have, they would say it’s a benign tumor, nothing to worry about,” Thompson explained.
But a quick search about TIO changed his mind.
“We really had to do that operation, because it was a chance to actually cure him of this disease which was ravishing his body,” Thompson said.
After the surgery and about a month of physical therapy, Covington felt back to normal.
“It would take about five minutes to get from my car to the front door. Now it takes about 15 seconds,” Covington said.
And two months after surgery, Covington was back in his classroom teaching, pain-free.
Doctors say Covington’s case of TIO was even more rare because of its location. Most of those tumors are normally found in the hands, feet, or nasal cavities.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Executive Producer; Milvionne Chery, Field Producer; Roque Correa, Videographer and Editor.
To receive a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs from Ivanhoe, sign up at: http://www.ivanhoe.com/ftk
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: TIO – The Bone-Breaking Tumor
REPORT: MB #4681
BACKGROUND: Meningiomas are the most common brain tumors. They typically form on the membrane covering the brain and they occur more often in women than in men. The tumors are often slow-growing and as many as 90% are benign, or not cancerous. Most of the time, meningiomas cause no symptoms and require no immediate treatment, thus no need to remove them. That’s why when patient David Covington came to neurosurgeon Dr. Reid Thompson at Vanderbilt University with several bone fractures and body weakness, Dr. Thompson believed David’s tumor to be a meningioma and could not possibility explain his bone-breaking symptoms until he did further research.
(Source: https://www.webmd.com/cancer/brain-cancer/meningioma-causes-symptoms-treatment#1)
TIO: Tumor-induced osteomalacia, or TIO, is a rare tumor that releases a growth factor that can cause breakdown of bone. The condition is characterized by bone pain, bone fractures, and muscle weakness. The tumor is caused by overproduction of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 is involved in phosphate absorption, which plays an important role in bone health. TIO tumors are often located in the extremities, such as the hands or feet. However, they can be found in other locations like in David’s case where it was found in his brain. They are unlikely to spread, but they may be difficult to locate on an x-ray or MRI. The diagnosis is usually confirmed by a blood test for Fibroblast Growth Factor 23.
(Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5633085/, https://www.ultragenyx.com/patients/tio/)
TREATMENT: Complete removal of the tumor is the most effective treatment and can cure the patient of the symptoms of TIO. If the tumor is in a location where it may be impossible to remove, medical therapy with phosphate and active vitamin D is usually successful in healing the osteomalacia and reducing symptoms. However, due to the frequent dosing regimen and side effects, compliance to treatment is often poor. Currently, new treatment options are being developed for those patients with TIO whose tumor may be inoperable. Some of the options include image-guided tumor ablation and medical treatment with the anti-FGF23 monoclonal antibody KRN23 or anti FGFR medications.
(Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5633085/)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Craig Boerner
Assistant Director, Media Director, National News Director
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
615-322-4747
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
