When Garret Gabriel, a 45-year-old New York resident, suffered a grand mal seizure shortly before Thanksgiving in 2023, imaging at his local hospital revealed a brain tumor. Additional testing confirmed glioblastoma, a devastating diagnosis.
For patients diagnosed with glioblastoma, the statistics can be daunting. This type of aggressive brain cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, highly effective at evading the immune system and is associated with a median survival of approximately 14 months despite surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
Turning a tumor into a treatment
Following his diagnosis, Garret and his family quickly began exploring treatment options beyond standard therapy. Their search led them to an innovative clinical trial at Tufts Medical Center.
Physicians and researchers at Tufts Medical Center are working through clinical trials and novel immunotherapy approaches that harness the body's own immune system to fight cancer.
Among the leaders of this effort are neurosurgeon Dr. Julian Wu, Associate Chair of Neurosurgery and Co-Chief of Neuro-Oncology at Tufts Medical Center and Professor of Neurology at Tufts University School of Medicine and Dr. Soma Sengupta, Department Chair of Neurology and Neurologist-in-Chief at Tufts Medical Center and Professor of Neurology at Tufts University of Medicine, whose work with the IMVAX clinical trial is helping redefine how glioblastoma may be treated in the future.
"IMVAX was a unique and unusual trial because it was not a traditional drug study," said Dr. Wu, principal investigator for the Tufts Medical Center study site. "The treatment uses the patient's own tumor to stimulate an immune response against the cancer."
After surgically removing Garret's tumor, Dr. Wu and the clinical research team followed the IMVAX protocol, which involves processing the patient's tumor tissue and implanting it into the abdominal wall shortly after surgery. The goal is to activate the immune system and help it recognize and attack remaining cancer cells.
The approach reflects a growing frontier in cancer care: personalized immunotherapy.
For glioblastoma, a disease that has seen few significant advances in the past two decades, the strategy offers a promising new avenue for research.
Building a continuum of innovative care
"Research and innovation have dramatically improved outcomes for many cancers,” said Dr. Sengupta. “Unfortunately, glioblastoma has not benefited from the same breakthroughs. That is why participation in clinical trials is so important."
The challenge lies partly in the brain's protective environment and the tumor's ability to suppress immune responses. Technologies that can overcome those barriers have become a major focus of cancer research worldwide.
Early results from the IMVAX trial, released in late 2025, offered encouraging signs. Researchers reported a median survival improvement from approximately 14 months to 20 months while maintaining quality of life and demonstrating an excellent safety profile.
Understanding what the scans were showing
As Garret moved through treatment, imaging studies occasionally raised concerns that his tumor had returned.
For most patients, such findings can signal disease progression. However, physicians involved in immunotherapy research have learned that new therapies often produce effects that differ significantly from conventional cancer treatments.
One example is a phenomenon known as pseudo-progression.
Unlike chemotherapy, which typically causes tumors to shrink if treatment is successful, immunotherapy can trigger inflammation and immune activation that may temporarily resemble tumor growth on MRI scans.
Understanding the difference requires experience, advanced imaging interpretation and careful clinical judgment.
"We were told that immunotherapy behaves differently than traditional cancer treatments," said Garret's sister, Honora Gabriel. "What appeared to be recurrence on scans may actually have been the immune system actively responding to the tumor."
Subsequent evaluation ultimately revealed no active tumor, highlighting the complexities physicians face as they navigate this emerging field of cancer treatment.
The importance of clinical trial access
Garret's journey also underscores another hallmark of Tufts Medical Center's approach to complex cancer care: connecting patients to promising research opportunities throughout the course of their disease.
After undergoing two brain surgeries, Garret enrolled in a second clinical trial for recurrent glioblastoma known as SONOBIRD.
The ability to transition patients between innovative studies reflects the growing ecosystem of research aimed at improving outcomes for individuals with brain tumors.
For Drs. Wu and Sengupta, every clinical trial represents an opportunity not only to help current patients but also to advance knowledge that could benefit future generations.
"Even an extension of six months of quality life is meaningful for patients and families facing glioblastoma," said Dr. Wu. "The safety profile has been excellent, and the results suggest that immunotherapy may play an important role in the future of glioblastoma treatment."
A living example of what innovation can achieve
Today, more than two years after his diagnosis, Garret continues to enjoy a quality of life that many glioblastoma patients never could experience.
Recent imaging has shown no detectable brain mass.
While physicians are careful not to characterize any individual outcome as typical, Garret's experience illustrates what can happen when expert surgical care, innovative immunotherapy, advanced imaging, clinical trial access and multidisciplinary collaboration come together.
"It is extremely unusual for someone with glioblastoma to live this long while maintaining such a high quality of life," said Dr. Sengupta. "His story demonstrates the importance of clinical trials and the power of collaboration across institutions to connect patients with potentially life-saving treatments."
For Tufts Medical Center, Garret's journey represents more than a remarkable patient outcome. It reflects the institution's broader commitment to advancing neuroscience, expanding access to groundbreaking clinical trials and helping shape the future of brain cancer care.
And for patients facing a glioblastoma diagnosis today, it offers something equally important: hope.
