Clinical Trial Treatment Shrinks Rare Thyroid Cancer Tumours by 60%, Inspiring Patient's Charity Ride
核心洞察
Julie Rose, 49, diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer (搜索) in 2020, saw her tumours shrink by 60% within six months of joining a clinical trial at The Royal Marsden Hospital.
Rose's cancer had spread to her adrenal glands and liver before she enrolled in the trial in May 2021, and she remains on the medication today.
She reports that some tumours have completely disappeared and that she feels well on the drug, prompting her to undertake a 186-mile charity cycle ride.
A woman whose life she says was saved by a new treatment for a rare cancer has set herself the challenge of a long-distance cycle ride to raise funds for the hospital that cared for her. Julie Rose, 49, from Bridgwater, Somerset, was referred to The Royal Marsden Hospital after being diagnosed in 2020 with medullary thyroid cancer (搜索). She was accepted onto a clinical trial, and within six months her tumours had shrunk by 60%.
Rose first started to notice symptoms while training for a half-marathon in March 2020. "I started to get backache when I was running, but I'd had a hip replacement a few years previously and thought the pain was just wear and tear," she said. Rose said her "world just stopped" when, a few months later, she found a lump in her neck and was told she had cancer. "I have three children and a partner, and there were lots of tears – it was all very traumatic," she told BBC Somerset.
Enrolling in a Clinical Trial
Rose joined the clinical trial after the cancer had spread to her adrenal glands and liver. "There were only about nine or 10 places in the UK," she said. "I thought I had nothing to lose. It was either an old drug that made me poorly, or this new one that I was reading about. So, I took the gamble and got the new drug – that was May 2021, and I'm still on that medication now."
The treatment produced a marked response, with her tumours shrinking by 60% within six months of starting the trial.
A Personal Challenge to Give Back
Rose, who has twice taken part in the London to Paris Cycle, said she was inspired to create her own unique challenge, supported by medical staff who had cared for her. She started the 186-mile ride in her home town on Friday and hopes to complete the challenge by arriving at the London hospital.
"I have good news at every scan, and some of my tumours have completely disappeared, so I wanted to make this [ride] personal," she said. "I feel really well with this drug, and my body doesn't actually feel poorly. And the work they do at The Royal Marsden is just so important to raise money for."
Ongoing Research in Advanced Thyroid Cancers
The Royal Marsden Hospital has led research into advanced thyroid cancers, including ongoing clinical trials into different aspects of the disease. Rose's experience highlights both the potential of investigational therapies for rare cancers and the importance of continued clinical research in this area.