Trial gives precious time to brain cancer patients
Thursdays are Huxley days for Pat Hogan and one of the best days of the week.
Hogan, 59, and his 2-year-old grandson play golf, do the gardening and go on adventures.
When the Wellingtonian was diagnosed with the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma late last year, his work as a massage therapist with hospice patients informed his response.
‘‘I am with dying people all the time.
‘‘I knew if something occurred like this, I was more prepared for it but it was a huge shock.’’
Sometimes he felt very sad but there were also moments of joy, he said.
‘‘I feel that I am closer to my family and friends because of what has happened.
‘‘I am trying to look for positive outcomes along the way.’’
One of those is supporting a new trial that could prolong the lives of the 180-200 New Zealanders who are diagnosed with the disease every year.
Dr Swee Tan of the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute is leading the programme that aims to make cancer treatment less intrusive, more accessible and more affordable.
Tan said glioblastoma was the most common form of brain cancer in New Zealand and had a median survival rate of between 14 and 15 months.
‘‘It is a devastating cancer to be diagnosed with,’’ he said.
For 15 years there had been no improvement in survival rates
but about five years ago he started a phase I clinical trial that increased the survival rates of those involved by more than five months.
That trial proved his treatment was safe and had very low side-effects.
Now he has approval to proceed to a larger phase II trial that will hopefully confirm what was learned and open the door to providing new treatment to glioblastoma patients.
But to proceed, he needs money – $4.6 million in total over four years but 60 per cent or $3m to make a start.
Already the project has been gifted $1m by the Arrowtownbased
Hugo Charitable Trust, set up to continue the philanthropic work of the late businessman Hugh Green.
It is the organisation’s largest donation and chief executive Aoibheann Monaghan said they supported the work because they saw it making a difference to people in New Zealand and potentially in other parts of the world.
‘‘These people are suffering and [Dr Tan] is so focused on getting a good outcome for them,’’ she said.
Tan compares cancer in the body to bees in a beehive. While many treatments attack the bees, his goal is to destroy the queen bee, which not only produces worker bees but other queen bees.
‘‘That is where cancer moves on and metastasises,’’ he said. One of the attractions of the treatment is that it involves repurposing six existing offpatent drugs such as betablockers into one tablet.
They would be a cheap and efficient treatment, as they could be delivered anywhere in New Zealand, taken in one tablet and would not have serious sideeffects.
However, the benefit of using cheaper drugs also had its downside, Tan said.
‘‘There is not really any incentive to promote research like this, so it has to rely on philanthropists and funding from government.’’
He hopes to have secured the funds and be under way by the end of the year.
Hogan’s Australian-based daughter, Sarah, has also raised thousands of dollars by competing in an Ironman, despite the fact that her father is unlikely to benefit from the project.
Hogan said he had benefited from previous trials and wanted to support Tan’s work in the hope it would prolong the lives of others.
He is trying not to spend time thinking about the future, preferring to live in the moment with the people he loves.
‘‘I would like to live long enough to repay the love and kindness my family and friends have shown to me.
‘‘That is another gift that has come out of this – I am more grateful for everything I have got and had.’’