Former NBA player Jason Collins undergoing treatment in Singapore for aggressive brain tumour

Former National Basketball Association (NBA) centre Jason Collins is undergoing experimental chemotherapy treatment in Singapore to treat a deadly form of brain cancer.

In a letter published with American sports network ESPN on Dec 11, the 47-year-old announced he has Stage 4 glioblastoma, which is the most aggressive form of brain cancer.

A biopsy found a baseball-sized tumour growing at a rate of 30 per cent, Mr Collins told the network, more than the 20 per cent growth rate that is considered severe.

Mr Collins, who played for various NBA teams, including the New Jersey Nets and Atlanta Hawks, added that he would be dead within six weeks to three months if nothing were done.

In a video interview with ESPN published on Dec 11, he said he received approval for treatment in Singapore within 48 hours, and was preparing to be in the city-state for seven to eight weeks.

The experimental treatment he is receiving is not approved in the US.

Explaining the treatment, Mr Collins said it involves the use of biopharmaceutical company EnGeneIC’s EnGeneIC Dream Vectors, or EDVs, delivery vehicles that move the drug directly to the tumour.

He said in his letter that the EDVs would seek proteins found only in glioblastomas to deliver their payload past the blood-brain barrier and straight into his tumour.

“The goal is to keep fighting the progress of the tumour long enough for a personalised immunotherapy to be made for me, and to keep me healthy enough to receive that immunotherapy once it’s ready,” he said.

“It’s really high-tech science fiction stuff, but we’re in the city of the future so let’s do some future stuff,” he says from a car in Singapore in the ESPN video.

Speaking to The Straits Times, EnGeneIC’s co-founders, Dr Jennifer MacDiarmid and Dr Himanshu Brahmbhatt, said the treatment involves bolus injections – injecting the EDVs directly into the veins.

For the first three weeks, patients would receive one dose for two days each week. For the next four weeks, the number of doses is raised to two for each day of treatment.

It is recommended that patients go through two cycles of the treatment.

Dr Himanshu said that in general, patients show clinical benefits during the first cycle, such as improved cognitive abilities. At the end of the cycle, MRI scans have shown that tumours stopped growing.

After the second cycle, doctors have noticed a major shrinkage of tumours.

The EnGeneIC co-founders said Mr Collins is halfway through his first cycle, and is doing well, noting that he has been jogging and sightseeing, “which is very unusual for that stage of cancer”.

The treatment in Singapore is at present conducted for compassionate cases, referring to patients who have exhausted standard treatments and who do not have much time left. The company hopes to begin clinical trials in Singapore from the end of January 2026.

In his letter, Mr Collins said he had missed a flight to the tennis US Open in August because he could not stay focused on packing, adding that he had experienced “weird symptoms like this” for about two weeks.

His family had also noticed his mental clarity, short-term memory and comprehension disappearing in hours.

Upon doing a biopsy, doctors found the glioblastoma in a butterfly shape – it was already in both hemispheres of the brain.

“My glioblastoma is ‘multiforme’. Imagine a monster with tentacles spreading across the underside of my brain the width of a baseball,” he said.

Mr Collins is the first openly gay athlete in NBA history, and married his partner Brunson Green in May. Mr Collins played for six teams in his 13-year NBA career.

In response to a media query, Crescendas Group, a strategic investor in EnGeneIC, said it is optimistic about the potential of EDV technology to revolutionise cancer treatment.

“We are glad to see Mr Collins receiving this life-changing treatment, and we hope it gives him a renewed sense of hope and purpose,” it said.

It added that it is working closely with EnGeneIC, Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine Holdings and government agencies, including the Economic Development Board, for EnGeneIC to set up a presence in Singapore.

“Mr Lawrence Leow, founder of the Crescendas Group, is confident that EnGeneIC’s technology will bring substantial economic benefits and reinforce Singapore’s position as a leading biomedical hub,” it added.

The Straits Times has contacted the Health Sciences Authority for more details.