A man with one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer is now hopeful for the future after his tumor completely disappeared thanks to a breakthrough drug.
In October 2022, Ben Trotman was 40 years old when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare form of terminal cancer that kills more than 10,000 Americans a year, according to the National Brain Tumor Society.
Glioblastoma, also known as GBM, has no known cure. Standard treatment involves surgery to remove the tumor (if possible), followed by radiation and chemotherapy. The disease is considered a highly invasive tumor in the central nervous system because its cells reproduce extremely quickly. Those who are diagnosed with the malignant tumor have a median survival rate of about 14 to 14.5 months.
Following his diagnosis, Trotman was referred by a friend to The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at University College London Hospitals (UCLH). There, Dr. Paul Mulholland, a consultant medical oncologist, recruited Trotman to be the first patient in his clinical trial.
The trial involved him receiving the immunotherapy drug ipilimumab to treat his glioblastoma before undergoing any standard treatment. Afterward, Trotman began radiation and chemotherapy.
“The crucial element of this trial is that patients will have their immune system boosted by the drug before they have any other treatment, when they are fit and well enough to tolerate the immunotherapy,” Mulholland said in a press release.
Courtesy of Ben and Emily Trotman
Ben and Emily Trotman on their wedding day in 2023
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Two years and eight months after being the sole participant in the clinical trial, Trotman, now 43, is tumor-free, and his scans have come back clear.
“It is very unusual to have a clear scan with glioblastoma, especially when he didn’t have the follow-up surgery that had been planned to remove all of the tumour that was initially visible on scans,” Mulholland explained. “We hope that the immunotherapy and follow-up treatment Ben has had will hold his tumour at bay, and it has so far, which we are delighted to see.”
Mulholland added that his goal is to find a cure for the “devastating disease” that is glioblastoma, and he’s hoping to move forward with additional patients.
Trotman is now married to wife Emily, and the couple welcomed daughter Mabel in April. The couple told the hospital that the clinical trial gave Trotman his life back.
“Getting this diagnosis was the most traumatic experience,” Emily said. “We were grappling with the fact that Ben had gone from being apparently perfectly healthy to having months to live. Had we not met Dr. Mulholland, that would have been it for us. We felt we had a lucky break in an otherwise devastating situation.”
“We obviously don’t know what the future holds, but having had the immunotherapy treatment and getting these encouraging scan results has given Emily and I a bit of hope,” Trotman added. “We are focused on rebuilding the life we thought we had lost and enjoying being parents.”
The new father said he’s hoping that his brain cancer journey will give others hope and inspire more patients to participate in the next clinical trial.
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Marie Mangan
Dr. Paul Mulholland and Dame Siobhain McDonagh
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Dame Siobhain McDonagh — member of parliament of the UK who lost her sister from glioblastoma in 2023 — led a fundraising campaign and raised more than €1 million to cover the costs of the next trial.
“My beloved sister Margaret was appalled to discover that there had been no advances in brain cancer treatment for decades when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma,” McDonagh said.
“Changing this was Margaret’s final campaign and one that I have continued in her memory. I am so grateful to the many people who knew and respected Margaret who have come together and helped to raise funds and campaign for this new trial that we are calling Margaret’s Trial.”
Mullholland recalled meeting Margaret. “When I met Margaret, she said to me, ‘What can I do to support you to cure this disease?'”
“I am incredibly grateful to her and to Siobhain, whose campaigning and fundraising in her sister’s memory has led to this new clinical trial opening for patients with this most aggressive form of brain cancer that has such a poor prognosis.”
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