A Nottingham patient has become the first person to take part in an international trial that aims to improve treatment for brain cancer. Those behind the major project say patients could have a better quality of life and more could live disease-free thanks to the research.
The Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) is leading the new study at five hospitals across the UK. The trial is known as the OptiMATe trial and is funded by the Cancer Research UK charity.
Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a type of blood cancer that affects the brain and can be difficult to treat. A previous trial found that a treatment called MATRix, which is a combination of chemotherapy drugs and an immunotherapy treatment called rituximab, followed by a stem cell transplant, could lead to long-term survival for around 70% of people.
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But for a third of patients, this treatment is not successful. The current trial is therefore investigating whether the MATRix treatment can be improved by changes to the timings and intensity of how different drugs are given.
Professor Chris Fox, Consultant Haematologist at NUH, said: "Despite huge advances in treatments for patients with PCNSL in the last few years, there are still many patients whose lymphoma does not respond to, or returns following, current treatment approaches. We therefore need to look at new ways to improve the treatments we can offer these patients."
The trial is being led in the UK by Professor Fox and run by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit. Internationally, the project is being led by Germany, with a total of 16 UK hospitals eventually set to open the trial to patients.
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