'Combined drugs trial gives me a chance to enjoy life'

New mum given hope after cancer spread to her brain

- By Chris Riches

A REVOLUTIONARY treatment to attack the world's toughest cancers by combining immunotherapy with a pill used for arthritis is being trialled at six hospitals in the UK.

Immunotherapy encourages the body's defence systems to target cancer cells, while non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduce reactions to harmful attacks.

It is important to tackle inflammation as it can make cancer cells replicate as well as increase the enzyme COX-2, which helps the diseased cells hide from our immune systems.

Now, for the first time, a trial called LION (Lifting Immune Checkpoints with NSAIDs) is combining immunotherapy with celecoxib, an anti-inflammatory drug and COX-2 inhibitor.

A patient on the trial says she hopes LION will help beat her aggressive cancer so she can live a happy and full life with her husband and baby son.

Annie Field, 36, who is a GP in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, was diagnosed with metastatic triple negative breast cancer in February 2021 after finding a lump. This was removed after 21 weeks of chemotherapy, and then she began radiotherapy.

Amazing