Despite undergoing an operation on 27 December, followed by courses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Mr Read was told in July his tumour was growing again.<\/p>\n
“I was fully expecting the tumour to return due to its aggressive nature,” he said. “I know the outcome isn’t great and I was happy to explore anything else.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
He was then offered the chance to become the first patient in a clinical trial aiming to cure the disease, run by the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).<\/p>\n
In the CITADEL-123 trial, surgeons remove as much tumour as possible before implanting a small medical device called an Ommaya reservoir under the scalp, which connects to the tumour via a small tube.<\/p>\n
The nuclear medicine team at UCLH then inject a drug – ATT001, which helps repair DNA damage in cells – directly into the tumour to deliver small amounts of radioactivity.<\/p>\n
The drug, given weekly for four to six weeks, causes lethal damage to tumour cells but leaves healthy tissue unaffected.<\/p>\n
Since starting the experimental treatment, Mr Read has seen his tumour shrink by half in just a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n
“This trial was a lifeline, as the likelihood of survival according to the data was a year or less for me,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to be part of this trial and I have not experienced any side effects from the injections.”<\/p>\n
“I am feeling very good,” the engineer added. He also said he’s not afraid of the treatment failing to cure his cancer if it can help others.<\/p>\n
“We are all dealt a hand of cards and you don’t know which ones you are going to get,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It will be wonderful if this treatment helps me and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.<\/p>\n
“I am more than happy – even it if doesn’t benefit me, it may benefit someone else down the line. So I have got nothing to lose and everything to hope for.”<\/p>\n
Dr Paul Mulholland, UCLH consultant medical oncologist who designed the trial, said the reduction of Mr Read’s tumour “is really quite remarkable for somebody whose tumour is so aggressive”.<\/p>\n
“We have to aim to cure this disease,” he said. “Primary brain tumours do not metastasize around the body and generally stay in the same location in the brain.<\/p>\n
“It doesn’t spread to the rest of the body, so using a targeted – directly into the tumour – approach makes sense.”<\/p>\n
A second patient is currently undergoing the same procedure, with one being treated a month by the team, and Dr Mulholland said the trial aims to have up to 40 patients treated.<\/p>\n
The dose of radiation will be increased throughout the trial and researchers plan to combine ATT001 with immunotherapy – which trains the body’s immune system to kill cancerous cells.<\/p>\n
While he said early signs are promising, Dr Mulholland noted the trial is a “first-in-human study so we’ve been cautious in our approach and are only treating patients for six weeks”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on sky.com<\/div>\n
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