logo
Patients sought for new NHS trial for brain cancer after man sees tumour vanish

Patients sought for new NHS trial for brain cancer after man sees tumour vanish

Independent2 days ago
A new immunotherapy trial to treat the deadliest form of brain cancer is seeking patients after one man had remarkable results that saw his tumour vanish.
The NHS study will recruit 16 people over an 18-month period and has been set up in memory of Baroness Margaret McDonagh, who died of the disease.
People diagnosed with deadly glioblastoma will receive immunotherapy with the drug ipilimumab before undergoing standard treatment, when their immune system is at its strongest.
The trial, from University College London Hospital's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, follows a previous one on the same drug which closed because of lack of recruitment.
One patient from that trial, Ben Trotman, is still showing no signs of glioblastoma following the treatment – well over two years since he got the drug in a world first. Most people with glioblastoma die within 12-18 months.
Mr Trotman was diagnosed with glioblastoma in October 2022, when he was 40.
Now aged 43 and two years and eight months on from having the treatment, his scans are clear and there are no signs of tumour.
Consultant medical oncologist, Dr Paul Mulholland, who is leading the new trial and treated Mr Trotman, said: 'It is very unusual to have a clear scan with glioblastoma, especially when he didn't have the follow-up surgery that had been planned to remove all of the tumour that was initially visible on scans.
'We hope that the immunotherapy and follow-up treatment Ben has had will hold his tumour at bay – and it has so far, which we are delighted to see.'
Mr Trotman got married to Emily two months after the immunotherapy treatment and in April, his daughter Mabel was born.
Mrs Trotman said: 'Getting this diagnosis was the most traumatic experience. We were grappling with the fact that Ben had gone from being apparently perfectly healthy to having months to live.
'Had we not met Dr Mulholland, that would have been it for us. We felt we had a lucky break in an otherwise devastating situation.'
Mr Trotman went on to have the current standard treatment of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He has quarterly scans, which continue to be clear.
Mr Trotman said: 'We obviously don't know what the future holds but having had the immunotherapy treatment and getting these encouraging scan results has given Emily and I a bit of hope.
'We are focused on rebuilding the life we thought we had lost and enjoying being parents.'
Dame Siobhain McDonagh MP led a fundraising campaign to raise more than £1 million to cover the costs of the new trial.
Her sister, Baroness McDonagh, died from glioblastoma in 2023.
Dame Siobhain said: 'My beloved sister Margaret was appalled to discover that there had been no advances in brain cancer treatment for decades when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma.
'Changing this was Margaret's final campaign and one that I have continued in her memory.
'I am so grateful to the many people who knew and respected Margaret who have come together and helped to raise funds and campaign for this new trial that we are calling Margaret's Trial.'
Dr Paul Mulholland said: 'When I met Margaret she said to me 'what can I do to support you to cure this disease?'.
'I am incredibly grateful to her and to Siobhain whose campaigning and fundraising in her sister's memory has led to this new clinical trial opening for patients with this most aggressive form of brain cancer that has such a poor prognosis, with most patients surviving just nine months after diagnosis.
'The crucial element of this trial is that patients will have their immune system boosted by the drug before they have any other treatment, when they are fit and well enough to tolerate the immunotherapy.
'We're taking everything we have learned from previous trials into this new study and we are already planning follow-on trials.
'My aim is to find a cure for glioblastoma.'
The National Brain Appeal is currently funding two posts in support of Dr Mulholland's research.
Treatment will take place at the NIHR UCLH's Clinical Research Facility and at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
Patients
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

EXCLUSIVE The ultimate guide to Mounjaro hacks that promise to supercharge your weight loss – experts verdict on which work... and the ones to avoid at all costs
EXCLUSIVE The ultimate guide to Mounjaro hacks that promise to supercharge your weight loss – experts verdict on which work... and the ones to avoid at all costs

Daily Mail​

time20 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

EXCLUSIVE The ultimate guide to Mounjaro hacks that promise to supercharge your weight loss – experts verdict on which work... and the ones to avoid at all costs

Doctors are warning against dangerous weight–loss jab 'hacks' spreading online, as patients chase ways to supercharge results. More than a million Britons are now injecting themselves weekly with drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy — bought online or through private clinics — lured by promises of rapid results. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes.

I'm an older mother who will be 65 when my baby turns 18 - I don't care what people think, I'm a better parent now than I would've been in my twenties
I'm an older mother who will be 65 when my baby turns 18 - I don't care what people think, I'm a better parent now than I would've been in my twenties

Daily Mail​

time20 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

I'm an older mother who will be 65 when my baby turns 18 - I don't care what people think, I'm a better parent now than I would've been in my twenties

A mother who had a second child at 47 she's a better parent now than she ever would've been in her younger years and she doesn't care if people call her selfish. Samantha Crammond first gave birth in her early 40s and thought that would be her only experience of changing nappies - until she discovered she was pregnant again on her 46th birthday. Samantha, from Essex, said she 'wasn't expecting' to give birth again despite admitting that she and her partner Andy 'weren't being particularly careful'. 'I went to Tesco with Andy to get breakfast and I had a gut feeling so I got a pregnancy test [and] I did it in the toilet. 'I was standing over the bin ready to drop it in and it came up saying pregnant. I was shaking. I was happy, but at my age, you worry. It was hard to celebrate until tests had been done properly.' Samantha, who works in admin for a finance company, tried not to get her hopes up after previously suffering a miscarriage. Her daughter, Elvie, was born on December 17 last year, weighing a healthy 8.8lbs, and she is also a mother to four-year-old, Zephyr. Despite having initial nerves about the situation, she was never worried about being an older mother and did not want judgement from others to cloud her experience. 'Some mums worry about what other parents at the school gate think - I literally couldn't care less. 'Anyone that knows me probably says that I'm young at heart... I wasn't worried. 'For me personally, I travelled a lot, my life revolved around travel and I've partied hard. I'm completely happy to do this, whereas if I'd been younger it might have been different. 'I'm also much more patient. Mentally, it's much better having a baby when you're older. Physically, not so much. 'I don't mind the night feeds or anything like that, it's just the fact my body hurts. I get a bad back and my knees and my arms hurt from carrying her around all the time.' Samantha - who will be 65 when Elvie turns 18 - said that she decided to go through with having another child because she did not want Zephyr to be on his own. 'We're going to be older parents, that's just a fact - but I didn't want him growing up without someone to share it with,' she said. 'Let [people] judge - I'm not here to live life on anyone else's timeline. I don't really think about [being an older mum], everyone's entitled to their own opinion. 'I do get some of the reasons, but I'm a better mother now than I ever would have been in my 20s. 'It's not about being the youngest mum at soft play - it's about being present, being calm and showing up every single day.' Samantha says that she is more 'chilled' out in her forties than she was when she was younger and 'doesn't sweat the small stuff' anymore, but rather enjoys the experience instead. 'I know who I am now - and that makes me a better mum than I ever could've imagined,' she added. However, her second pregnancy came with a long list of complications, including an underactive thyroid and gestational diabetes. At one point, she was injecting insulin daily and struggling to breathe as fluid build-up pressed on her lungs, but said she remained upbeat and did not allow it to define her experience. When Elvie was born at 37 weeks via a planned C-section, over a litre and a half of fluid came out during delivery. Samantha said: 'The fluid was squashing my lungs. Over a litre and a half of fluid came out. 'I didn't enjoy being pregnant at all, I was considered high-risk. I just wanted to have it over and done with, as terrible as it sounds.' She says that in her younger years, she would often be itching to get out of her house and travel the world, whereas now 'my happiness is at home with them'. 'Being older, I wouldn't have felt like that if I had had them earlier,' Samantha said.

Warwickshire surgeon retires after helping 15,000 patients
Warwickshire surgeon retires after helping 15,000 patients

BBC News

time20 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Warwickshire surgeon retires after helping 15,000 patients

A hospital trust's longest serving orthopedic consultant is retiring after performing 15,000 joint replacements over more than three decades. Stephen Young joined the South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) in 1989 and played a crucial role in setting up its orthopaedic unit. He temporarily stepped down from his role before the pandemic in preparation for retirement, however he returned to support the trust after a mobile theatre was installed to increase the number of operations that could be carried out. Tamara Harries, general manager for orthopaedics at SWFT, said many of Mr Young's patients "owed their mobility and quality of life to his expert hands". Mr Young performed nearly 1,000 hip replacements in the last three also helped to set up the South Warwickshire Accelerated Transfer Team (SWATT) service, which oversees the entire patient journey, from when they are added to a waiting list, to being back at home fully recovered. A spokesperson for the trust credited SWATT for helping the trust to become "one of the most efficient orthopaedic units in the country". Lasting legacy Glen Burley, foundation group chief executive, said thousands of patients, staff and trainees had benefited from Mr Young's skills."We will all miss his leadership and his calm, caring and efficient approach," Mr Burley Young is set to retire next month, however he leaves a lasting legacy. A bi-annual community event, the Sky Walk, where former patients walk alongside the trust's orthopedic team, was previously named in Mr Young's honour. It continues to raise money for the unit that he helped to establish. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store