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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Man's Deadly Brain Tumor Vanishes After Taking Breakthrough Drug: ‘Lucky Break in a Devastating Situation'
A man with one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer is now hopeful for the future after his tumor completely disappeared thanks to a breakthrough drug. In October 2022, Ben Trotman was 40 years old when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare form of terminal cancer that kills more than 10,000 Americans a year, according to the National Brain Tumor Society. Glioblastoma, also known as GBM, has no known cure. Standard treatment involves surgery to remove the tumor (if possible), followed by radiation and chemotherapy. The disease is considered a highly invasive tumor in the central nervous system because its cells reproduce extremely quickly. Those who are diagnosed with the malignant tumor have a median survival rate of about 14 to 14.5 months. Following his diagnosis, Trotman was referred by a friend to The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at University College London Hospitals (UCLH). There, Dr. Paul Mulholland, a consultant medical oncologist, recruited Trotman to be the first patient in his clinical trial. The trial involved him receiving the immunotherapy drug ipilimumab to treat his glioblastoma before undergoing any standard treatment. Afterward, Trotman began radiation and chemotherapy. '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,' Mulholland said in a press release. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Two years and eight months after being the sole participant in the clinical trial, Trotman, now 43, is tumor-free, and his scans have come back clear. '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,' Mulholland explained. '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.' Mulholland added that his goal is to find a cure for the 'devastating disease' that is glioblastoma, and he's hoping to move forward with additional patients. Trotman is now married to wife Emily, and the couple welcomed daughter Mabel in April. The couple told the hospital that the clinical trial gave Trotman his life back. 'Getting this diagnosis was the most traumatic experience,' Emily said. '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.' '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,' Trotman added. 'We are focused on rebuilding the life we thought we had lost and enjoying being parents.' The new father said he's hoping that his brain cancer journey will give others hope and inspire more patients to participate in the next clinical trial. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Dame Siobhain McDonagh — member of parliament of the UK who lost her sister from glioblastoma in 2023 — led a fundraising campaign and raised more than €1 million to cover the costs of the next trial. '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,' McDonagh said. '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.' Mullholland recalled meeting Margaret. '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.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Man's deadly brain cancer tumor disappears after experimental drug trial
A man with the deadliest form of brain cancer has no signs of the disease after taking an experimental drug. Ben Trotman was 40 when he was diagnosed in 2022 with glioblastoma, the most aggressive cancerous brain tumor. Patients typically live an average of 15 months after diagnosis, and the five-year survival rate is just 6.9%. Trotman was referred to The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), where he was treated by consultant UCLH medical oncologist Dr. Paul Mulholland, as detailed in a press release. Ancient 'Pharaoh's Curse' Fungus Shows Promise In Killing Cancer Cells As the only person enrolled in a trial that ultimately closed due to lack of patients, Trotman received a medication called ipilimumab, a targeted immunotherapy treatment. Ipilimumab is an antibody that binds to a protein on immune cells (T cells). It keeps cancer cells from suppressing the immune system so it can then attack and kill the cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. Read On The Fox News App Trotman also received radiation and chemotherapy. More than two years later, his quarterly scans show no signs of cancer. "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 tumor that was initially visible on scans," his oncologist, Mulholland, said in the release. "We hope that the immunotherapy and follow-up treatment Ben has had will hold his tumor at bay — and it has so far, which we are delighted to see." Two months after receiving the ipilimumab, Trotman married his wife, Emily. In April 2025, they welcomed their daughter, Mabel. "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," Emily Trotman said in the release. "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." Ben Trotman added, "We obviously don't know what the future holds, but having had the immunotherapy treatment and getting these encouraging scan results has given [us] a bit of hope." "We are focused on rebuilding the life we thought we had lost and enjoying being parents." Mulholland and his team have now opened another clinical trial for patients who have been newly diagnosed with glioblastoma. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter Sixteen patients will be recruited for the trial, which is sponsored by UCL. The treatment will be administered at the NIHR UCLH's Clinical Research Facility and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, according to the press release. The patients will receive ipilimumab before proceeding to standard treatments that may include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. "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," Mulholland said in the release. The Win-Glio trial — nicknamed "Margaret's Trial" — is funded by the efforts of Dame Siobhain McDonagh, sister of Margaret McDonagh, a London woman who died of glioblastoma in 2023 and was treated by Mulholland. For more Health articles, visit Ben Trotman said he is "delighted" that the new trial is moving forward with the same immunotherapy drug he received. "It will give people newly diagnosed with glioblastoma some hope."Original article source: Man's deadly brain cancer tumor disappears after experimental drug trial
New York Post
21-07-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Dad with deadly brain cancer that kills in a year is now cancer free after taking new drug
A breakthrough drug is fighting brain cancer head-on. Glioblastoma is widely considered the deadliest form of brain cancer, killing over 10,000 Americans each year. There is no cure for the highly aggressive disease — many patients survive just nine months after diagnosis. 4 Ben Trotman was diagnosed with glioblastoma in October 2022 at just 40 years old. Marie Mangan Advertisement Treatment focuses on managing symptoms and extending life via surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible and radiation therapy and chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells. Now, researchers from University College London Hospitals (UCLH) are recruiting glioblastoma patients for a trial of the immunotherapy drug ipilimumab. Sold under the brand name Yervoy, the monoclonal antibody stimulates the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. Oncologists are optimistic since a 43-year-old UK father shows no signs of having a tumor — he took ipilimumab before his glioblastoma treatment. Advertisement '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,' said Dr. Paul Mulholland, the consultant medical oncologist leading the trial. 'We saw with Ben, the one patient recruited to the immunotherapy study, NeAT-GLIO, that he has had clear scans since having the treatment and the tumor hasn't returned more than two and a half years later.' 4 Glioblastoma is widely considered the deadliest form of brain cancer, killing over 10,000 Americans each year. H_Ko – Ben Trotman was diagnosed with glioblastoma in October 2022 at just 40 years old. Advertisement Trotman met with Mulholland, who enrolled him in a clinical trial for ipilimumab. He was the first patient in the world — and the only person in the trial — to take the drug before glioblastoma treatment. 'Getting this diagnosis was the most traumatic experience,' said Trotman's wife, Emily. 'We were grappling with the fact that Ben had gone from being apparently perfectly healthy to having months to live.' Advertisement After taking the drug, Ben underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Two years and eight months later, his scans are clear. '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 tumor that was initially visible on scans,' Mulholland said. 4 Ben and Emily Trotman wed in 2023, after he began his immunotherapy treatment. Courtesy of UCLH 'We hope that the immunotherapy and follow-up treatment Ben has had will hold his tumor at bay,' he added, 'and it has so far, which we are delighted to see.' In January 2023, months after his diagnosis, Ben married Emily. The couple welcomed a daughter, Mabel, earlier this year. They enjoy taking her for walks along with their rescue dog, Jerry. Advertisement 'We are trying to live as normal a life as possible,' Emily said. 'We are in a unique position of which there is no precedent and which comes with a great deal of uncertainty,' she continued. 'We want to live each day as if it were our last, but we also want to plan for the future, which we hope to have.' Researchers plan to recruit 16 glioblastoma patients like Ben over 18 months. After taking ipilimumab, the trial participants will undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy and perhaps surgery depending on the extent of their disease. Advertisement 4 Dr. Paul Mulholland (left) is pictured with Dame Siobhain McDonagh, who raised funds for the new clinical trial of ipilimumab. Marie Mangan The trial is being funded by Dame Siobhain McDonagh, a member of the British Parliament, whose sister died of glioblastoma in 2023. '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,' McDonagh said. 'Changing this was Margaret's final campaign and one that I have continued in her memory.' Advertisement Treatment will take place at the NIHR UCLH's Clinical Research Facility at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. 'I am delighted that this new trial, with the same immunotherapy drug I received, is going ahead and others will have the opportunity to take part,' Ben said. 'It will give people newly diagnosed with glioblastoma some hope.'
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Man sees deadly brain cancer vanish after undergoing experimental treatment
A man who was diagnosed with the deadliest form of brain cancer is in the clear after he underwent experimental treatment. Ben Trotman is still showing no signs of glioblastoma, more than two years since he was given an immunotherapy drug in a world-first clinical trial. Most people with glioblastoma die within 12-18 months. Mr Trotman, 43, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in October 2022. Two years and eight months on from having the treatment, his scans are clear and there are no signs of the tumour. As a result of Mr Trotman's success, the NHS will seek to recruit 16 people over 18 months to undergo a new immunotherapy trial, which will be set up in honour of Baroness McDonagh, the former Labour Party general secretary who died of the disease. The trial, conducted by University College London Hospital (UCLH), follows a previous one on the same drug, which stopped because of a lack of recruitment. Dr Paul Mulholland, the consultant medical oncologist who 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 married his wife Emily two months after receiving the treatment, and in April, the couple had a daughter, Mabel. 'We had a lucky break' 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.' Dame Siobhain McDonagh, the MP for Mitcham and Morden, led a fundraising campaign to raise more than £1m to cover the costs of the new trial after the death of her sister 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.' Dr Mulholland, who claimed he aims to 'find a cure for glioblastoma', said he was 'incredibly grateful' for the support of both Baroness McDonagh and Dame Siobhain. He said: 'We're taking everything we have learned from previous trials into this new study and we are already planning follow-up trials. The National Brain Appeal is currently funding two posts in support of Dr Mulholland's research. The fresh trial will see patients who are diagnosed with glioblastoma receive immunotherapy with ipilimumab, a drug which activates the immune system to fight cancer, before they undergo standard treatment. Patients interested in the trial should discuss it with their doctor. Treatment will take place at the UCLH's clinical research facility and the national hospital for neurology and neurosurgery. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Groundbreaking cancer trial to recruit patients within the NHS
A new immunotherapy drug trial for glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer, is now recruiting patients in the NHS. The trial follows a previous study where patient Ben Trotman's tumour vanished, and he has shown no signs of the disease for over two years, a rare outcome for glioblastoma. The NHS study will enrol 16 patients over 18 months, who will receive the immunotherapy drug ipilimumab before standard treatment. The trial was established in memory of Baroness Margaret McDonagh, who died from the disease, and was funded by over £1 million raised by her sister, Dame Siobhain McDonagh MP. Led by Consultant Medical Oncologist Dr Paul Mulholland, the trial aims to build on previous findings and offers significant hope for patients with this aggressive cancer. Dad's aggressive brain cancer vanishes after taking new drug
