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A man with the most fatal way of brain cancer has no signs of the disease after taking an experimental medication.
Ben Trotman was 40 when he was diagnosed in 2022 with glioblastoma, the most aggressive cancerous brain tumor. Patients generally live an average of 15 months after diagnosis, and the five -year survival rate is only 6.9%.
Trotman was sent to the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University College of Hospitals in London (UCLH), where he was treated by the medical oncologist Dr. Paul Mulholland, as detailed in a press release.
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As the only person registered in an essay that finally closed due to the lack of patients, Trotman received a medication called iPilimumab, a directed immunotherapy treatment.
Ipilimumab is an antibody that binds to a protein in immune cells (T cells), preventing cancer cells from suppressing the immune system so that it can then attack and kill cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Ben Trotman, in the photo with his wife Emily and his daughter Mabel, was 40 when he was diagnosed in 2022 with glioblastoma, the most aggressive cancerous brain tumor. (Marie Mangan through University College London)
Trotman also received radiation and chemotherapy. More than two years later, their quarterly scanks do not show signs of cancer.
“It is very unusual to have a clear scan with glioblastoma, especially when it did not undergo follow -up surgery that had planned to eliminate all the tumor that was initially visible in the scan,” said his oncologist, Mulholland, in the statement.
“We feel we had a lucky break in a devastating situation.”
“We hope that immunotherapy and follow -up treatment that Ben has had to keep his tumor at bay, and so far has to be delighted to see.”
Two months after receiving the iPilimumab, Trotman married his wife, Emily. In April 2025, they welcomed their daughter, Mabel.
Two months after receiving the iPilimumab, Trotman married his wife, Emily. In April 2025, they welcomed their daughter, Mabel. (Ben and Emily Trotman through University College London)
“Obtaining this diagnosis was the most traumatic experience: we were dealing with the fact that Ben had gone from being apparently healthy to have months to live,” said Emily Trotman in the statement.
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“If we had not met Dr. Mulholland, that would have been for us. We felt that we had a lucky break in a devastating situation.”
Ben Trotman added: “Obviously we do not know what the future holds, but it has given the immunotherapy treatment and we obtain these exploration -encouraging results [us] A little hope. “
Dr. Paul Mulholland (left) is shown with Dame Siobhain McDonagh (right), who raised funds to support a new trial for the experimental medication of glioblastoma. (Marie Mangan through University College London)
“We are focused on rebuilding the life we thought we had lost and enjoying being parents.”
Mulholland and his team have now opened another clinical trial for patients who have recently been diagnosed with glioblastoma.
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Sixteen patients will be recruited for the trial, which is sponsored by UCL. The treatment will be administered at the NiHr UCLH Clinical Research Center and at the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, according to the press release.
Patients will receive iPilimumab before proceeding with standard treatments that may include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Patients with glioblastoma generally live an average of 15 months after diagnosis, and the five -year survival rate is only 6.9%. (Istock)
“The crucial element of this essay is that patients will have their immune system driven by the medicine before having any other treatment, when they are in shape and well enough to tolerate immunotherapy,” Mulholland said in the statement.
The Win-Glio trial, nicknamed “Margaret's Trial”, is funded by the efforts of Dame Siobhain McDonagh, sister of Margaret McDonagh, a woman from London who died of glioblastoma in 2023 and was treated by Mulholland.
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Ben said he is “delighted” that the new essay is moving forward with the same immunotherapy medication he received.
“It will give the newly diagnosed people with glioblastoma some hopes.”
