Cancer: the eminent doctor who remained free for a year of the disease he was suffering from, thanks to a treatment he helped develop

A year after the world’s first treatment for glioblastoma, Australian doctor Richard Skolyer remains cancer-free.

The prestigious pathologist’s experimental therapies are based on his own pioneering research into melanoma.

Scolier’s subtype of glioblastoma is so aggressive that most patients survive. less than a year.

But on Tuesday the 57-year-old announced his latest MRI was again inconclusive. no tumor recurrence.

“To be honest, I was more nervous than any previous scan,” he told the BBC.

“I’m just excited and delighted (…) I’m very happy,” he added.

Scolyer is one of the country’s most respected medical minds and was named Australian of the Year this year along with his colleague and friend. Georgina Longin recognition of his life-changing work against melanoma.

As co-directors of the Melanoma Institute of Australia, over the past decade the pair’s research into immunotherapy, which uses the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells, has significantly improved outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma around the world.

It is this research that Long and his team of doctors are using to treat Scolier, hoping to also find a cure for his disease. cancer.

In melanoma, Long, a renowned medical oncologist, and her team found that immunotherapy works best when using a combination of medications and upon introduction before any operation remove the tumor.

Last year, Skolier became the first brain cancer patient to receive combination immunotherapy before surgery.

He also became the first person to receive a vaccine personalized to the characteristics of his tumor, which increases the effectiveness of drugs in detecting cancer.

After a difficult couple of months of treatment earlier this year (due to seizures, liver problems and pneumonia), Scolayer says he’s feeling better.

“I feel better than I have in years,” he said, adding that he is back to exercising daily, which for him often means running 15 kilometers.

“This of course does not mean that my brain cancer is cured (…) but it is nice to know that it has not returned yet, so I still have more time to enjoy life with my wife Katie and three wonderful children. ,” He said.

The results so far have caused great excitement as the duo may be on the verge of a discovery that could one day help the approximately 300,000 people diagnosed with brain cancer each year

Scolier and Long previously said the chances of a cure are “slim,” but they hope the experimental treatment will prolong Scolier’s life and soon move into clinical trials on patients with glioblastoma.

They are currently reviewing a scientific paper detailing the results of Scolier’s first weeks of treatment, but Long stresses that They are still a long way from developing an approved and regulated treatment.

“We collected a lot of data so we could then lay the groundwork for the next step and help more people,” he said.

“We haven’t reached our goal yet. We really need to focus on showing that this type of combination immunotherapy before surgery works in a large number of people,” he said.

Roger Stapp, the doctor for whom the current treatment protocol for glioblastoma is named, told the BBC earlier this year that Scolier’s prognosis was “grim” and that it was too early to tell whether the treatment was working.

He added that while Scolyer’s previous results were “encouraging”, he wanted him to make it to 12 months, even 18, without recurrence before becoming concerned.

Skoiler already said this you are proud of the data obtained as a result of your processing and is grateful to his family and medical team for supporting “this experiment.”

“I’m proud of the team I work with. I’m proud that they’re willing to take the risk and go down this path,” he said.

“This gives some hope that this might be an area worth exploring more formally.” said.

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