Man sees deadly brain cancer vanish after undergoing 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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NHS ‘invisible waiting list' as three million patients await specialist appointments
Three million patients in England have had no appointment after being referred by their GPs to specialist care, a new analysis has suggested. NHS England figures last month estimated 7.36 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of May, relating to just under 6.23 million patients. The new analysis from MBI Health suggests almost half of those have been left in limbo. Delays in making a first assessment can lead to late diagnosis, worsening symptoms and pressure on emergency services. The Patients Association, which represents patients across the country, said if accurate, the situation was 'staggering' and meant millions are waiting on an 'invisible waiting list.' The analysis comes after data showed the NHS is making progress in reducing the overall waiting list ahead of Sir Keir Starmer's promise for 92 per cent of patients to be treated within 18 weeks by March 2029 - a target not met since 2015. MBI's analysis found that around 70 per cent of referral to treatment pathways fall into the category of being 'unseen' since the patient's GP referred them to a specialist. The latest figures show how challenging that target will be, given an estimated one million of the three million unseen patients have already gone more than 18 weeks without receiving any care. The analysis found that ear, nose and throat (ENT), trauma and orthopaedics, gastroenterology, ophthalmology and gynaecology and obstetrics departments were consistently the specialist departments with the greatest number of patients not seen for the first time. Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, told the Guardian 'If accurate, three million people are trapped in an invisible waiting list crisis, stuck without basic diagnostic tests of first appointments while their conditions worsen,' 'The scale is staggering, as nearly half of all patients on a waiting list haven't been seen by anyone. That's not a healthcare service; that's a breakdown. 'These aren't just statistics. They're people checking their phones daily for hospital calls that never come, unable to plan their lives while their symptoms deteriorate.' Last month, figures showed 56.1 per cent of those on the list at the end of June this year were of working age (defined as age 19 to 64), up from 55.8 per cent a year ago and 55 per cent in June 2022. At the same time, the proportion of people on the waiting list under the age of 19 has fallen, standing at 10.8 per cent in June this year, down from 11.2 per cent a year earlier and 11.9 per cent in June 2022. The proportion who are over 65 has remained broadly unchanged at around 33.1 per cent. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said: 'Thanks to this government's record investment, reforms and the hard work of NHS staff, we've cut the waiting list by over 260,000 since July 2024, which also fell for the first time in 17 years in April and May outside the pandemic. On top of this, we have also delivered 4.6m appointments – more than double the 2m we promised. 'This government is delivering the fundamental reform needed to turn our NHS around, and our 10-year health plan will build on this progress, to ensure we meet our target that 92 per cent of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks for treatment by March 2029.' The DHSC did not comment on the three million unseen patients.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Essex NHS trust expands award-winning programme to support 'rising stars'
A talent development programme aimed at supporting rising stars in the NHS from minority ethnic backgrounds has been expanded. The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) launched the Resilience, Intelligence, Strength, and Excellence (RISE) initiative four years ago. This year, the award-winning programme was broadened to include staff across the mid and south Essex Integrated Care System. Paul Taylor, director of organisational development and culture at EPUT, said: "Across the mid and south Essex system, we benefit from having a diverse workforce with an incredible breadth of talent, much of which can go untapped. Read more Shrimpers striker Spasov excited to face his former side in friendly Driver, 88, failed eyesight test after causing death by dangerous driving in Essex "EPUT established the RISE programme to play a vital role in bringing this to light, making space, and elevating that potential." It is aimed at increasing the number of senior leaders from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The programme has so far seen 187 participants graduate, including 20 staff members this year alone. EPUT was named Best Employer for Diversity and Inclusion at the Nursing Times Workforce Awards 2024 for RISE.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I won't ever sit back and declare ‘job done', says drugs minister
Drugs minister Maree Todd has said she will never 'sit back, relax and say 'job done'' in the fight against drug deaths. Ms Todd was appointed to the role in June following the death of Christina McKelvie earlier this year from secondary breast cancer. Despite the circumstances of the appointment, the former mental health pharmacist said she was 'excited' to move from the social care brief to drugs as the Government continues its push to tackle the level of addiction and death across Scotland. The minister inherits a legacy which has been long-criticised by opponents, with Scotland having the highest drug death rates in Europe – a figure which actually increased between 2022 and 2023 in the latest available confirmed data. Just this week, figures showed the number of suspected drug deaths between March and May of this year increased by 15% compared to the previous 13 weeks. Speaking to the PA news agency, the minister said there is a 'consensus' that 'the work we are doing is the right kind of work', but the Government is responding to a 'changing landscape'. When the Government launched its national mission on drugs under the premiership of Nicola Sturgeon, the focus was largely on opioids such as heroin. But that has shifted, reflecting an increase in the injection of cocaine and the spectre of synthetic opioids known as nitazenes. On the latter, the minister said: 'They are unbelievably potent, super-strong, very tiny amounts can cause fatal overdoses easily.' As it looks to deal with the shifting threat posed by drugs, she stressed the need for the Government to be 'agile'. Ms Todd said: 'We've just had our rapid action drug alerts and response (Radar) statistics released this week and we've seen a rise in deaths, a rise in Naloxone use, a rise in hospital admissions. 'We are seeing some absolutely significant and tangible harm occurring because of the change in the drug supply. 'I suppose the lesson that provides to me is that we need to be agile. 'I don't think we do one thing and this job is done and we fixed the problem that Scotland faces, we have to continually look carefully at what's happening in Scotland, understand the challenges that we're facing, understand the harms that people are experiencing.' She added: 'I don't think I would ever sit back and relax and say 'job done'. 'I think we've seen some significant progress, but each of these deaths is an absolute tragedy – it's a family who's lost a loved one, it's a loss of potential and contribution to our communities.' The way forward, she said , is a job for the whole of Government, saying there is a need for 'primary prevention'. The minister said: 'We need to be thinking, why is it that Scotland faces this challenge and what can we do to shift the likelihood that people growing up in Scotland will turn to drugs and alcohol as they grow older?' Earlier this year, the Thistle Centre opened in the east end of Glasgow, a UK-first safe consumption room giving those struggling with addiction a safe place to inject drugs. Since opening, the facility has supervised 3,008 injecting episodes and dealt with 39 medical emergencies, which could include administering Naloxone or even resuscitation. 'People would definitely have died if they had not been in that unit,' Ms Todd said. 'I think in March, there was a cluster of very profound overdose episodes, I think this is the issue with nitazenes, they act very fast, so people were really unwell really quickly and it takes a lot of Naloxone because of its potency.' In other parts of Scotland without the benefit of a safe consumption room where that specific batch of drug was used, the minister said: 'Where people used it, they did die.'
