A MAN who was given months to live has seen his aggressive brain cancer effectively disappear, leaving doctors stunned.
Ben Trotman, 41, of West Sussex, was given the shock glioblastoma diagnosis in October 2022 and he brought his wedding forward to last January as a result.
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Doctors told him and his now-wife Emily that patients normally only survive nine months.
They were left “grappling with the fact he had gone from being apparently perfectly healthy to having months to live”.
But luckily the investment banker was able to join a world-first clinical trial for a treatment that uses patients’ own immune systems to attack the tumour.
Now, after completing treatment, Ben is virtually disease-free, with the tumour receding in a way that was “previously unheard of”.
Dr Paul Mulholland, of University College Hospital in London, told The Times: “The standard treatment for glioblastoma is to have surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
“Then your disease comes back, then you have palliative care, then you die. It’s the same story every time. We need to do something different.”
Glioblastomas are very aggressive brain tumours that affect around 3,200 Brits a year.
The Wanted’s Tom Parker died from one in March 2022, as did Baroness Margaret McDonagh, a Labour peer, in June 2023.
TV presenter Annabel Giles also lost her life to stage four glioblastoma in November 2023, campaigner Laura Nuttall, who inspired Peter Kay’s first gig in four years, died from one in May 2023, and Tessa Jowell, a former Labour cabinet minister, passed away in May 2018.
Baroness McDonagh’s sister, Labour MP Dame Siobhain McDonagh, is calling for hundreds of patients to join clinical trials a year in a “mission” to find a cure.
She said: “When a person is diagnosed with a glioblastoma they get six weeks’ radiotherapy, followed by six months’ chemotherapy.
“This is called the ‘gold-standard treatment’. That is a bastardisation of the English language. It is not a gold standard. It is not even a plastic standard.”
The new immunotherapy, used instead of standard treatments, was tested on a clinical trial.
SEARCH FOR THE CURE
Ben suffered a headache after first taking the drug but doctors said that was a good thing as it showed his immune system was in action.
The trial ended with Ben because of a lack of eligible referrals from the NHS, but Dr Mullholland said the approach could be used in future trials.
Dr Mullholland said he believes “we have the tools to cure it”.
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He said: “We have established a Glioblastoma Research Group and laboratory at UCL Cancer Institute.
“We are bringing together the newest drugs from the pharmaceutical industry together with the latest developments in scientific research to try to find a cure for this devastating disease.”
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What is a glioblastoma?
Glioblastomas are a fast-growing type of cancerous brain tumour.
Symptoms depend on where the tumour is located, but they can include:
- Headaches
- Personality changes
- Memory problems
- Trouble speaking or understanding
- Tiredness
- Depression
- Difficulty thinking
- Seizures
- Problems with eyesight
Scientists don’t fully understand what causes glioblastomas, therefore there is no clear way to prevent the disease.
The main treatments include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The average survival time following a glioblastoma diagnosis is 12 to 18 months.
Only 25 per cent of patients live beyond one year, and just five per cent survive more than five years.
Source: Cancer Research UK and the Brain Tumour Charity