A cancer-stricken man who had months to live has surprised doctors after his deadly brain tumor effectively disappeared.
Ben Trotman, 41, from West Sussex, has enrolled in the world’s first treatment trial following his diagnosis of glioblastoma shock in October 2022.
When he was told he probably only had nine months left, he and his fiancée Emily moved up their wedding to last January.
But Trotman, a JP Morgan investment banker, now lives a normal life, all thanks to the “lucky break” therapy he received. Doctors claimed his remarkable recovery was “never seen before.”
Typical treatment plans for glioblastoma include patients undergoing surgery before chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It’s still the same way it was treated in the early 2000s.
Ben Trotman (pictured), 41, from West Sussex, signed up to the world’s first treatment trial following his glioblastoma diagnosis in October 2022. Told he probably only had nine months left, he and his fiancee Emily brought forward their wedding to last. January
Wanted singer Tom Parker (pictured with wife Kelsey Parker in October 2021) died in March 2022 following an 18-month battle with stage four glioblastoma. After his diagnosis, he said he was “shocked” by the limited treatment options for GBM and that “massive improvements” were needed.
said Dr. Paul Mulholland, a brain cancer specialist at University College Hospital in London and director of the new trial. The timesthat the end result is “always the same story.”
The disease, which affects about 3,000 Britons and 12,000 Americans each year, usually returns before killing patients, Dr. Mulholland said.
According to their trial, patients were supposed to receive immunotherapy treatment before undergoing regular treatment.
Immunotherapy accelerates the body’s internal weaponry to hunt and destroy cancer cells.
The Times reported that the trial had to close with Mr. Trotman as the only patient.
However, Dr Mulholland said the results were so promising that a cure could finally be on the horizon.
He said: ‘I think we have the tools to cure it.
‘We need to intervene early to give patients the best chance of long-term survival.
“It is important not only for patients with brain cancer, but also for all other types of cancer that have poor survival, such as pancreatic cancer.”
The median survival time for glioblastoma is between 12 and 18 months, according to the Brain Tumor Charity. Only 5 percent of patients survive five years, he says.
The disease killed Labor politician Dame Tessa Jowell in 2018.
Last March, The Wanted singer Tom Parker also died after an 18-month battle with stage four glioblastoma.
After his diagnosis, he said he was “shocked” by the limited treatment options for GBM and that “massive improvements” were needed.
Diagnosed patients usually undergo surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible.
This is followed by daily radiation and chemotherapy drugs for about six weeks, after which the drugs are tapered.
Radiation may then be used to destroy additional tumor cells and treat those that are not well enough for surgery.
But cancer can double in size in just seven weeks.
In comparison, the fastest growing lung cancers take 14 weeks to double.
As part of the trial, funded by The Jon Moulton Charity Trust, Trotman first underwent a course of immunotherapy before following standard treatments.
The cancer, which is diagnosed in about 3,000 Britons and 12,000 Americans a year, is still treated in the same way as in the early 2000s. The average survival time is about 15 months, and less than 10 percent of Patients survive five years after diagnosis following standard treatment. Killed Labor politician Dame Tessa Jowell in 2018
The anonymous medication used, which is not yet widely available, gave him a severe headache.
Doctors said this was a good sign because it showed that her immune system had “woken up” and was attacking the tumor.
Dr Mulholland has now urged that the same approach be adopted in future trials.
It comes as Labor MP Dame Siobhan McDonagh introduced a bill to parliament last month calling for an increase in the number of brain tumor clinical trials.
The MP for Mitcham and Morden lost her sister, Baroness Margaret McDonagh, a Labor MP, to glioblastoma in June last year.
Under the Bills, recommendations include mandatory training for NHS oncologists on brain tumors and at least 200 patients a year to join clinical trials.