Cancelled clinical trial forces fundraising, new AI system used to monitor Mesothelioma tumors and positive early result from clinical immunotherapy trials for brain cancer.

Crowdfunding for cancer treatment after cancelled clinical trials

Delays in cancer treatment continue to appear in the news this month, with an increasing number of devastating stories hitting the headlines. However, it isn’t just diagnosis and conventional treatments being delayed. We came across the story of artist Kerry, who was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer five years ago and which spread to her liver in 2020. Told that without treatment, she would only have a year to live, Kerry was given a place on a potentially effective clinical trial. Devastatingly, the Covid-19 pandemic led to the trial being cancelled by the NHS. However, on discovering that the treatment was still available privately, Kerry felt she had no choice but to crowdfund the £40,000 needed to save her life. She’s reported that while the treatment is proving effective, her journey isn’t over yet and she’s still crowdfunding to hopefully beat the disease once and for all. You can check out her crowdfunding page here.  We wish Kerry all the best with her treatment.

New development for tackling mesothelioma

At RMDM, we’re always eager to hear of advancements in technology that help in the process of diagnosing or treating cancer. We were particularly delighted to see news of a potentially huge development in the treatment of a rare type of cancer linked to asbestos known as mesothelioma. Scotland has the highest incidence of this cancer in the world, but chemotherapy isn’t as effective as on other cancers, meaning that treatment options are limited. The way in which the tumours grow also makes monitoring them much more difficult. Fortunately, researchers have created a prototype artificial intelligence system that is able to recognise the tumours more efficiently. It’s hoped that this new technology will accelerate clinical trials and enable more targeted treatment in the future. We are looking forward to hearing the outcome of this exciting innovation. You can read more about mesothelioma on the British Lung Foundation’s website.

Immunotherapy treatment raises hopes for new treatment for brain cancer

Brain cancer can be one of the hardest types of cancer to treat. In the news this week, we’ve seen some amazing early results from a trial of an experimental cancer immunotherapy cancer drug being used to treat glioblastoma – an aggressive form of brain cancer. It’s extremely early days, with clinical trials still only in Phase 1 at the present time. However, early indications are extremely positive – unusually so at this stage – and we will be watching with interest to see how they develop over the course of the remainder of the trial. If you’d like more information about brain tumours, check out the Cancer Research UK website.

We are delighted to share these stories with you and are committed to remaining at the forefront of the latest cancer developments, both here in the UK and globally. To find out more about us, please visit our website. To learn more about our early detection cancer blood test, please check out our PanTum Detect web page.

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