At least 32 cases of a rare form of brain cancer called glioblastoma have occurred in Henry County over the past 16 years. Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Jerome Adams said an ongoing investigation by the state health department has found no signs that the cancers were caused by something in the water or soil.
“All indications at this point are that the cases that occurred in close proximity in Henry County did occur by chance. And when you look at the overall numbers, they’re actually less than the rate expected,” Adams said during the Henry County Commissioners meeting Wednesday night.
The Indiana State Department of Health began investigating glioblastoma cases in Henry County in late July after being contacted by New Castle resident Aundrea Dailey, whose father, Paul Bridges, was diagnosed with the cancer in 2014. Bridges died Sept. 25.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons say that glioblastoma affects two or three people per 100,000 every year. The ISDH found that Henry County had 26 cases from 1999-2013. The investigation revealed six additional cases identified between 2014 and 2015. Adams said the glioblastoma cases make up 0.08 percent of the total cases in the state.
At least two households on Fairoaks Drive in New Castle have been affected by this form of brain cancer. Henry County residents are concerned that there could be something in the local water supply or soil that is creating a cancer cluster. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said a cancer cluster occurs when a “greater-than-expected” number of cancer cases occurs in one area over a specific period of time.
“Henry County actually has a below average and one of the lowest rates of glioblastoma in the State of Indiana, particularly when you look at the expected rate,” Adams said.
Adams said all indications so far show that the close proximity of cancer cases are “a matter of unfortunate bad luck.” There are fewer than five known cases of glioblastoma in any one mile radius in Henry County, Adams said.
New Castle Mayor Greg York ordered testing of the well water along Fairoaks Drive to see if there were any contaminants in area. The water treatment plant found nothing out of the ordinary in the samples. Adams described this testing as “above and beyond federal recommendations.”
“As much as we can assure the public, the water is safe to drink in Henry County, whether you are drinking from a well or whether you are drinking from a municipal supply,” Adams said.
Doctors diagnosed Springport resident Kyle Burke with glioblastoma in March 2013. He succumbed to the disease within a year. Kyle’s wife, Vickie, attended the the commissioners meeting Wednesday to personally meet with the state health officials. Vickie Burke urged the people congregated in the former courtroom to work together to raise awareness and money to fund research into the cause of glioblastoma. She has taken to social media to organize fundraising efforts for glioblastoma research.
“The problem is no one is researching it. And they’re not researching it because they don’t have money,” Burke said. “It takes a lot of money for research.”
Adams said the only known cause for glioblastoma is high doses of radiation, levels that are rarely seen outside of medical treatment facilities. Glioblastoma experts from the CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry said there is no other known environmental cause of glioblastoma.
“It is highly unlikely we’re going to uncover anything in our investigation that is going to lead to a cause,” Adams cautioned.
“I wish I could give you an answer. I wish I could say this is what caused it. I wish I could say it’s never going to happen to anyone else again. I can’t,” he said. “But what I can promise you is we will talk to every single person or family member of that person who had glioblastoma. We will look for the common causes as suggested by the national experts on glioblastoma.”
State Epidemiologist Pam Pontones studies patterns, causes and effects of health and disease conditions in Indiana. Pontones told the commissioners Wednesday that all cases of cancer in Indiana are reported to the state’s health registry. Part of the registry includes confidentiality paperwork that prevents investigators from contacting cancer patients without first receiving the families’ permission. Pontones said the confidentiality restrictions means that there are glioblastoma patients around the state and possibly around Henry County that have not been included in the investigation.
The state health commissioner pledged that the investigation into glioblastoma cases in Henry County would continue. Part of that investigation involves interviews with people and families suffering from the disease. The more personal histories the ISDH can compile, the greater the chances that they will find a common factor.
As of Wednesday, Dailey had not been interviewed as part of the ISDH investigation.