{"id":531379,"date":"2026-03-12T12:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/531379\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T12:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:30:08","slug":"cancer-patient-first-in-uk-to-get-prostate-drug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/531379\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancer patient ‘first in UK’ to get prostate drug"},"content":{"rendered":"

A prostate cancer patient hopes a new treatment can help prolong the lives of thousands of men with the same condition.<\/p>\n

Brian Holmes, from Callington, Cornwall, has become the first person in the UK and fifth in the world to receive a drug which combines antibodies with chemotherapy to deliver the treatment directly to wherever the cancer is.<\/p>\n

Holmes, who has advanced prostate cancer, had been receiving other treatments for three years before being given the drug at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital as part of a clinical trial.<\/p>\n

The 70-year-old said he was “chuffed” to be the first person in the country to get the treatment.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully it will not only prolong my life by a couple of years – although 10 would be great and 20 would be magnificent – but also the many tens and hundreds of thousands of chaps around the world that have the same condition,” Holmes added.<\/p>\n

Derriford Hospital said the name of the drug and its manufacturer cannot be named due to research protocols.<\/p>\n

Doctors said the drug had proven to be effective previously against breast and bladder cancer.<\/p>\n

They added more trials for the treatment of prostate patients were set to follow in Cambridge and London.<\/p>\n

Dr Dominique Parslow, consultant clinical oncologist at Derriford Hospital, said the drug could be a positive step for patients.<\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/p>\n

Dr Dominique Parslow said the treatment could help lots of patients if successful [BBC]<\/p>\n

Parslow said: “Many patients once they’ve exhausted lines of treatment are keen to explore clinical trial opportunities.<\/p>\n

“Not only for the hope that it will benefit themselves but also for the hope that we might be stumbling across a new treatment that can help lots of people.”<\/p>\n

Doctors at Derriford said they expected to recruit more patients for the trial over the next couple of years.<\/p>\n

Follow BBC Cornwall on X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. Follow BBC Devon on X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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