In melanoma, Professor Long – herself a renowned medical oncologist – and her team have found that immunotherapy works better when used in combination with multiple drugs and when they are used before any surgery to remove the tumor. And so, Professor Scolyer last year became the first brain cancer patient to be treated with combination immunotherapy before surgery.
He was also the first person to receive a vaccine personalized to the characteristics of the tumor, increasing the drug’s ability to detect cancer.
After a difficult few months of treatment – dealing with epilepsy, liver problems and pneumonia – Professor Scolyer said he felt well.
“I feel the best for yonks,” he said, adding that he is back to exercising every day – which for him usually means a regular 15km (9.3 mile) jog.
“It certainly doesn’t mean my brain cancer is cured… but it’s nice to know that it hasn’t come back yet, so I still have some time left to enjoy life with my wife Katie and my husband and I.” three wonderful kids.”
The results so far have created great excitement that the duo may be close to making a discovery that could one day help the estimated 300,000 people diagnosed with brain cancer globally each year. year.
Professor Scolyer and Professor Long previously said the chance of a cure was “very small”, but they hoped the experimental treatment would prolong Professor Scolyer’s life and would soon move into a clinical trial for glioblastoma patients.
They currently have a scientific paper under review, which details the results from the first weeks of Professor Scolyer’s treatment, but Professor Long stresses that they are still a long way from developing a treatment approved and administered treatment.
“We generated a whole bunch of data to lay the foundation for the next step, so we can help more people,” she said.
“We’re not there yet. What we have to really focus on is demonstrating that this type of combined immunotherapy and preoperative approach is effective in a large number of people.”
Roger Stupp – the doctor named after his glioblastoma treatment regimen – earlier this year told the BBC that Professor Scolyer’s prognosis was “grave” and that it was too early to know whether the treatment would work. effective or not.
He added that although Mr Scolyer’s previous results were “encouraging”, he would like to see his child reach 12 months, even 18 months without a relapse before getting excited.
Professor Scoyler said he was proud of the data his treatment had generated and grateful to his family and medical team for supporting “this experiment”.
“I feel proud of the team I work with. I feel proud that they are willing to take risks in going down this path.”
“[It] gives some hope that perhaps this is an direction worth investigating more formally.”
