Mum becomes first in the world to try pioneering new drug after cancer ‘kept coming back’ in hope for millions

A WOMAN with advanced ovarian cancer has become the first in the world to receive a pioneering new therapy, in what has been hailed a “landmark moment”. Tracy Tomlinson, from Chadderton in Greater Manchester, had already beaten the odds in staying alive, after being diagnosed in late 2020. Tracy Tomlinson has spent more than five years living with deadly ovarian cancer Credit: PA The 58-year-old has become the first patient in the world to receive a pioneering new therapy Credit: PA Despite surgery and more than 40 rounds of chemotherapy, the 58-year-old’s cancer kept returning. But under a new clinical trial evaluating a new type of treatment for several types of cancer, she was given the drug which is delivered via in IV drip, at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! The therapy, known as ZI-MA4-1, will now be tested on people with ovarian cancer, lung cancer, sarcomas and head and neck cancer in the trial led by the Christie, with a site also at the Royal Marsden in London. Many people in the study have few other options for survival. READ MORE ON OVARIAN CANCER While she admitted it was “a little bit scary” being the first person in the world to receive the new therapy, Tracy, who learned last year that she was a suitable candidate for the trial, said she decided “almost straight away” that she was going to go through with it. She said: “If it benefits me, absolutely fantastic. But if it benefits other people in the future, that’s important too. “I don’t want to have gone through everything I’ve gone through for nothing. I want to feel like I have made a difference.” Only around 15 per cent of women survive ovarian cancer for five years or more after they are diagnosed. Most read in Health It is the sixth most common cancer in the UK. But a significant proportion of women with ovarian cancer are not diagnosed until the disease is at a later stage, meaning it is harder to treat. Last month, a new ovarian cancer treatment was approved for use on the NHS for the first time in 20 years. Tracy immediately underwent treatment after her diagnosis around Christmas 2020. By summer 2021, scans showed no evidence of disease but, a year later, the cancer returned. Despite further rounds of treatment and 48 chemotherapy infusions, her cancer kept coming back. The former Civil Service manager said she was diagnosed as stage 3C, which means there were cancer growths spreading into the peritoneum of the body. She currently has a tumour between the liver and kidney as well as small tumours elsewhere. Tracy added: “They’ve got rid of the cancer twice but then it came back about two and a half years ago, and we’ve never seemed to get rid of it since then. “The chemotherapy has shrunk it but when treatment stops, it has come back. How does ZI-MA4-1 work? The new therapy works by combining two powerful methods of fighting cancer. Firstly, the treatment harnesses the body’s natural killer (NK) cells, which are specialist immune cells that destroy abnormal ones. The T-cell receptors (TCRs) on those cells are then engineered to recognise and target tumours, producing a protein called Mage-A4. This is found in several types of cancer and experts believe is an ideal target for attacking abnormal cells. Unlike some personalised treatments, ZI-MA4-1 is designed as an “off-the-shelf” therapy that uses immune cells from donors. The treatment is manufactured in advance from donor cells rather than being individually tailored to each patient, with hundreds of doses produced from a single manufacturing batch. Experts believe this could mean advanced cell therapies are available to more patients more quickly, and at a cheaper cost. It is delivered to patients via an IV drip. “It is a lot to live with and there’s been ups and downs – there’s been elation, there’s been disappointment, and bits in between. “But I try very, very hard to remain very positive. Every day that I wake up is a positive. You’ve got to have hope. “You can’t control cancer. What I can control is how I look at it, how I deal with it, and trying to eat healthily and taking the positives in everything. “And I’ve learned to appreciate the smallest of things that we take for granted – and the people around you and what they mean to you. “I often think, ‘I’m still here’, and that’s helped me think, ‘Why can’t I still be here in 10 years?’, ‘Why can’t I still be here in 15 years?’ “And I believe taking all the treatments offered to me is helping me kick that can a bit further down the road. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I’ve still got a lot of things I want to do and things I want to achieve.” Mrs Tomlinson said husband Paul, who she married in 2022, is her “rock” and she is also close to her son Harry, 28. Last year, she was referred to the Christie’s early phase clinical trials team for extensive screening, and learned she was a suitable candidate for the new trial. “I decided almost straight away that I was going to go for it,” she said. “Then afterwards you think, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’, because it is a little bit scary being the first person in the world to have the treatment.” She has had three infusions of the therapy, with the option of another one depending on what scans show. Tracy was given the first dose of ZI-MA4-1 at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust as part of a clinical trial Credit: PA The clinical trial is evaluating a completely new type of treatment for a range of cancers Credit: PA Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite, consultant medical oncologist at the Christie, said: “While this is an early-stage study primarily focused on safety, it represents an exciting step forward in efforts to develop new treatment options for people like Tracy with advanced solid tumours. “We hope the knowledge gained will help shape future cancer treatments and ultimately improve outcomes for patients.” Dr Jon Lim, consultant medical oncologist in advanced immunotherapy and cell therapy at the Christie, added: “What’s very exciting about this is that these are essentially not kind of antibody-based, but living cells. “These are live immune cells that are infused in hundreds of millions back to the patient, and the idea of this is that it is a little bit more targeted. “The reason this is very interesting is because this is the first of its kind globally in this approach, where it’s taking donor immune cells, manipulating or engineering them, and putting them into the recipient. “Tracy is essentially getting somebody else’s immune cells that have been engineered to ‘see’ her cancer. “We’re very excited. This is a novel approach in the cell therapy space. We are also really showcasing what we can do in the UK.” Namir Hassan, chief executive of Norwegian firm Zelluna, which makes ZI-MA4-1, also said Mrs Tomlinson’s first dose is a “landmark moment”. He added: “It represents the moment when years of research moved beyond the laboratory and into the clinic, offering a new potential treatment option for patients facing advanced cancers with limited alternatives.” Comment now