A man told he had less than a year to live is now cancer -free thanks to a UK trial of a new drug regime.
Robert Glynn, 51, said he “wouldn’t be here” if it were not for the astonishing results of the trial run by the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.
He was diagnosed with bile duct cancer after suffering severe pain in his shoulder which left him unable to sleep.
The welder visited his GP and had scans and blood tests but his cancer was only picked up by chance in August 2020 when he got a gall bladder infection.
Bile duct cancer is rare and has few treatment options. Only 1,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with it a year and just 5% go on to live five years or more.
Robert, of Worsley, Greater Manchester, was told his cancer was advanced and had spread to his adrenal gland.
Medics at the Christie offered him the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial of immunotherapy. He said: “I jumped at the chance.”
The treatment, which is given by a drip, helps the immune system fight cancer and was mixed with chemotherapy.
The drug cannot be named due to the trial’s experimental nature.
Robert’s tumours shrank and he had them removed in April. Surgeons found only dead tissue which meant the treatment killed all the cancer cells.
He said: “I wouldn’t be here today without the trial. I feel very lucky. Getting the all-clear was overwhelming.”
Robert’s three-monthly scans show he is cancer-free and he has gone from 16st to 11st after changing to a healthier diet.
Prof Juan Valle, consultant oncologist at the Christie, said: “Robert has done very well on this combination due to his tumour having a high number of genetic mutations. It highlights the importance of personalised medicine.”
