How the innovative treatment works

IMMUNOTHERAPY treatment works by boosting white blood cell count and therefore boosting the tools in the body that can detect cancer and fight it.

Anna will head to the Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer centre in Newyork on January 13 and have a week of tests and scans including an MRI scan to get a picture of a starting point.

She will then undergo five cycles of the treatment which involves the eight-year-old being hooked up to a central line – most likely in her chest – as well as daily injections. Each cycle lasts 15 days, with a 13-day break in between. Her mother Keeley said: “We have been told a side-effect could be Anna being in pain while it is administered. So we are expecting to have to stay in America for the first few cycles of treatment.

“But after the first few cycles, when we have seen how Anna is responding, all being well we could maybe come home within the two-week break.”