British woman first in world to receive new treatment for cancer

MEDICINE: ‘Cluster therapy’ to treat disease that spread to her liver

A British woman has become the world’s first person to be treated with a revolutionary new therapy which injects a high dose of chemotherapy into cancer cells.

Karen Childs, from north-west London, is taking part in a clinical trial for acoustic cluster therapy to treat cancer that has spread to her liver.

During the therapy, clusters of microdroplets and microbubbles are injected into the patient at the same time as chemotherapy, where they work to enhance its delivery.

Ultrasound scans are used to ensure the clusters “pump” the drug into the tumour, meaning substantially more chemotherapy reaches cancer cells.

Experts hope the technique will mean patients have fewer doses of chemotherapy in the future, reducing the risk of side-effects.

The new treatment is being trialled by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

Ms Childs, who was diagnosed with

“It really would make a big difference to patients’ lives if sideeffects could be reduced using treatments like this. KAREN CHILDS

cancer in November 2013, said: “I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet that I’m the very first patient in the world to be receiving this new treatment.

“This trial is an exciting step for the hospital and a huge step for patients.

“It really would make a big difference to patients’ lives if side-effects could be reduced using treatments like this.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to be on this trial and the staff at the Royal Marsden have been very supportive.”

The aim of the clinical trial, which is still in its early stages, is to provide data on the effectiveness of the treatment as well as to establish its safety.

The therapy is being used to treat patients with tumours in the liver that have spread from the bowel or pancreas.

Eventually, the technique could be used to reduce the size of tumours before surgery – making them removable and potentially offering more patients a cure.

Jeffrey Bamber, professor in physics applied to medicine, who led the work to develop and evaluate the technology at the ICR, said: “We’re delighted that our work on innovative acoustic cluster therapy has progressed to the point where the technology is now being assessed in patients for the first time.

“It’s a very exciting ‘door-opening’ technology which concentrates more of the drug in the tumour.

“We expect eventually to be able to both treat tumours more effectively and reduce the rate and severity of side effects.”