The doctor got rid of cancer cells thanks to the method he researched

After becoming a volunteer in a clinical trial he collaborated on, Dr. Richard Scolyer's brain tumor disappeared.

Professor Scolyer, University of Sydney, revealed he once had a stage 4, incurable neuroblastoma brain tumor . After participating in a treatment trial with a new method last June, the tumor disappeared and did not recur.

"I had an MRI on May 9 to look for traces of glioblastoma recurrence, but there were no signs. I couldn't be happier ," he shared on his personal page.

This statement does not mean that he has completely recovered from cancer. However, Professor Scolyer said he was very happy that the disease had not returned.

Previously, in May 2023, while working across Europe to speak at medical conferences, Scolyer had a seizure in Poland. He flew back to Australia and had an MRI scan, which was discovered to have a glioblastoma - a dangerous, late-stage form of brain cancer. Most patients do not survive more than a year.

Instead of accepting his fate, the pathologist, now director of the Australian Melanoma Institute, collaborated with his colleague Professor Georgina Long to develop his own treatment plan to help combat the disease. deadly disease.

"I feel it's not right to just accept death without trying something ," he said.

Professor Richard Scolyer, University of Sydney, tests cancer treatments. (Photo: Richard Scolyer).

The team used an approach based on immunotherapy , which teaches the body's immune system how to attack cancer cells. The work shows the therapy works better when combined with multiple drugs before tumor ablation.

Professor Scolyer became the first brain cancer patient in the world to be treated with a combination of immunotherapy drugs before surgery. He is also the first person to receive a personalized vaccine based on tumor characteristics, helping to increase the drug's ability to detect cancer.

He said he and his colleagues are proud to have persevered with this treatment method, and said that this could be a potential direction worthy of conducting official research in the future.

Currently, about 300,000 people around the world are diagnosed with glioblastoma each year. Experts hope that Professor Scolyer's work will be the basis for clinical trials with other patients, potentially prolonging their lives.

"We have generated a lot of data as a foundation for the next step, so we can help more people ," said Professor Long.

Both Professor Scolyer and Long were named Australian of the Year for their work in treating melanoma.