香港六合彩中特网

It isn鈥檛 always easy to see the direct impact philanthropic support of听medical science has听on the world around us.听 But in the case of the 香港六合彩中特网 Cancer Institute, the effect is clear: money saves lives.

Take the CAR T-cell immunotherapy trials running at 香港六合彩中特网H and Great Ormond Street Hospital for example. As well as providing the basis for new treatments which can be rolled out nationally and internationally, the trials themselves are proving to be a lifeline for the patients who sign up.听

50-year-old Scott Davies is one such patient. He was a driving instructor in Nottingham until he started to feel unwell in 2015. Regular trips to the doctor and courses of antibiotics did little to help. So in March 2016 he visited the Queens Medical Centre in the city to see if they could identify the problem. Twenty-four hours later, he found himself at Nottingham City Hospital, newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

鈥淔rom that moment, when you鈥檙e in the doctor鈥檚 room, and they say 鈥榶ou鈥檝e got acute leukaemia鈥�, your world stops,鈥� he explains. 鈥淢y appointment was for three o clock, I remember looking at the clock while I was waiting. And at ten past three my life had changed immeasurably.鈥�

"Your hope has got to be stronger than your fear of failure鈥�

Married, with two adult children, Scott and his family faced a tough physical and mental battle. He was initially given a 50% chance of survival, but stayed strong. 鈥淚 decided: this isn鈥檛 going to beat me,鈥� he says. Scott underwent chemotherapy, and in August 2016 he had a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor through the charity Anthony Nolan. Scott continues: 鈥淭hree weeks later, I was out - they said I should go home, enjoy my life and crack on.鈥�
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For a year and a half, Scott got on with things, but in February 2018, a repeat biopsy confirmed the leukaemia had returned. Having already had a bone marrow transplant, his treatment options were now limited. He was told about 香港六合彩中特网鈥檚 CAR T-cell therapy trials and within a day had boarded a train to London.

Dr Maeve O鈥橰eilly, Clinical Research Associate, explains how CAR T-cell therapy works: 鈥淭-lymphocytes, immune cells the body uses to fight infection, are harvested from the patients. They are then genetically modified in our laboratory to incorporate a synthetic receptor called a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). Hence the name CAR-T cells. The cells are then returned to the patient. This modification means that the cells now recognise the patient鈥檚 cancer cells as foreign and destroy them as your immune system would destroy the common cold.鈥�

Scott鈥檚 trial was a little different though. The lymphocytes were actually taken from his original bone marrow donor. 鈥淭his is a good option for patients who may not be able to donate their own cells.鈥� explains Maeve.

Scott was monitored closely for three weeks after treatment to assess for treatment-related toxicity. His treatment course was uncomplicated and six months later he is in complete remission.

All the treatment to date has taken its toll on Scott but he has regained enough strength to resume his new passion 鈥� cycling. It鈥檚 something he took up after reading the story of Lance Armstrong鈥檚 fight against testicular cancer. And Scott attributes much of his own mental strength to reading about Armstrong: 鈥溾�榊our hope has got to be stronger than your fear of failure鈥�: that鈥檚 one of my favourite quotes from him. I know he鈥檚 a bit of a sociopath on a bike, to put it bluntly! But he inspired me to start cycling and use that to get fit and strong. I ride out regularly now.鈥澨�

Funding helps to save lives

This groundbreaking work, undertaken by some of the finest academics in the world, would not be possible without funding. The trial which Sott was on was funded by the EU Advanced T-Cell Engineered for Cancer Therapy (ATECT) FP7 project. The trial was also funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and supported by UCH Biomedical Research Centre. Some of the money for trials such as these comes from grants, but they take valuable time to apply for and only cover a small fraction of the money needed. What really drives the work forward is a combination of philanthropic and private donations from people who connect with the themes of the research.

鈥淧eople may not have that much interest in funding what seems like 鈥榖asic science鈥欌��, says Maeve O鈥橰eilly. 鈥淏ut if they can see how their support has a direct impact on real lives, see patients and hear their stories, we hope that this will inspire donors who really want to make a difference.

鈥淚t blows our minds as researchers that we can turn these lives around, and it鈥檚 all happening so quickly. If people really want to see their donations make an impact, the 香港六合彩中特网 CAR T-cell programme is a great example of the rapid translation of science from the bench to the bedside. Our patients are getting a second chance at life鈥�

Looking to the future

Since the end of last year, CAR T-cell therapy has been available via the NHS for certain types of leukaemia and lymphoma, but there is still much work to do in terms of broadening its usage.

Maeve O鈥橰eilly explains: 鈥淲e now have NHS-approved CAR-T cell products for patients with B-ALL under the age of 25 years and adults with B-cell lymphoma. However, at 香港六合彩中特网 Cancer Institute we鈥檙e always looking for the next big thing - treatment that could be made available to patients who have failed all other lines of therapy鈥�.

A further challenge is to apply the principles of CAR-T cell treatment to solid cancers - a breakthrough which would really change the face of cancer treatment going forward. 鈥淲e are not there yet with solid tumours,鈥� says Maeve. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 why we need more research in this area. I don鈥檛 doubt that immunotherapy will be effective for solid tumours, it will just take more time.鈥�

So the 香港六合彩中特网 Cancer Institute鈥檚 work continues, as does the drive for more funding. But as Scott鈥檚 story shows, advancements are being made all the time. 鈥淐AR T-cell therapy has transformed my life beyond words,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f anyone is thinking of donating money towards the trials, you have to remember how much it affects individual people. People are now starting to realise there鈥檚 a chance you can have some treatment and beat this stuff. It used to be that if anyone mentioned the 鈥榗鈥� word, everyone assumed it鈥檚 the end game, but things are changing and that鈥檚 amazing.

鈥淭he main thing I鈥檝e gotten from this is a chance to live life again, and start doing things I love to do again. Had I not done the 香港六合彩中特网 trial, all of that would have been taken away from me.鈥澨�

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