A woman with deadly bile duct cancer is surviving against all the odds thanks to a new experimental drug. Carol Hardy, 65, is taking part in a clinical trial the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, and doctors hope the drug may eventually be used for a range of cancers.
The tablets – known only as RXC004 – contain a compound that blocks a pathway known to be over-activated in bile duct cancer. So far, the treatment is working and has shrunk Mrs Hardy's tumour to just over a fifth of its original size.
Bile duct cancer is rare, with around 1,000 new cases every year in the UK. It does not usually cause symptoms in the early stages but can lead to jaundice, itchy skin, weight loss and pain as it progresses.
