- 8 hours ago
- #cancerdetectives
- #realityinsighthub
Cancer Detectives Finding the Cures Season 1 Episode 3
#CancerDetectives
#RealityInsightHub
🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️
👉 Official Channel: />👉 THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
#CancerDetectives
#RealityInsightHub
🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️
👉 Official Channel: />👉 THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00...and I just don't give up.
00:05I'm a detective in the cancer world.
00:09Trying to outfox cancer.
00:13It's giving us clues if we know where to look.
00:21We're trying to find tiny, tiny amounts of cancer DNA in the bloodstream,
00:28which is like finding a single grain of sand that matters amongst all the other grains of sand.
00:38The answers are there. We just have to find them.
00:43And that's my mission.
00:50For generations, a cancer diagnosis left almost no hope.
00:55It's a terrifying disease that has stalked us for millennia.
01:00I didn't expect I had cancer because all the tests were coming back negative.
01:04I don't think my body can take any more.
01:07Science has fought hard against it.
01:09And now the tide is finally turning.
01:12One of our key goals is to transform this idea of cancer as a death sentence.
01:17A group of trailblazing scientists are making new breakthroughs.
01:24We now need to take those discoveries and make them work for patients.
01:29This is the world's first lung cancer prevention vaccine.
01:34Discovering cures and finding ways to stop cancer before it even starts.
01:38The tumour seems to be shrinking.
01:41Your scan shows no active disease.
01:44Creating a future where cancer doesn't win.
01:49We're getting very close to defeating cancer once and for all.
01:54What's not curable today could be curable tomorrow.
01:57What's not curable today could be curable tomorrow.
02:27I love working.
02:31I've worked since I was 15 years old.
02:34But at school I didn't want to be a mechanic.
02:37I wanted to be a jockey.
02:40But when you go and work experience at school you couldn't find me a stable.
02:45They didn't want to find me.
02:46So I went in to be a mechanic and I loved it.
02:49I always loved getting my hands dirty as a kid.
02:52My mum didn't like it but I had to go home dirty.
02:53I just love cars.
02:58But a doctor told me I should have a few months off.
03:02I was off four days.
03:03I couldn't handle it because this is normal for me.
03:07And if I'm normal I haven't got cancer.
03:10And that's a thing.
03:17Four years ago 58 year old Lee experienced pain in his back after playing golf.
03:23But soon discovered it was more than a sports injury.
03:26So I had two lumps in my back and my rib cage.
03:31But I had pain around my kidney area.
03:34I couldn't sleep at night.
03:35I couldn't walk.
03:36I couldn't move because of the pain.
03:37A doctor sent me for an MRI scan.
03:43And they scanned the tumour.
03:45It was ten centimetres round.
03:49So we had a biopsy.
03:51And they come back and said it's cancer.
03:55But it's a strange cancer because it's called something called cancer unknown primary.
04:00Never heard of it.
04:04And I thought well what do you mean cancer unknown primary?
04:07Cancer is cancer.
04:08We can't find the primary source.
04:12So I've got a tumour in my back which I know about.
04:15But if you can't find out where it's originated how do you kill it?
04:19You can't.
04:19So until it pops its head out it's like playing hide and seek.
04:23So hopefully one day it'll pop its head out and then we'll kill it.
04:28Hopefully.
04:29You still don't know?
04:31No one knows.
04:33No, no one knows.
04:35I'm a mystery.
04:41In Manchester, Lee has joined a pioneering new project that seeks to solve his mysterious case
04:48by analysing the blood to unlock cancer's secrets.
04:55Hiya.
04:56Checked in?
04:57Sorted, thank you.
04:58Leading the initiative is Professor Caroline Dive.
05:06I've been thinking about how we fight cancer ever since I was 25 years old.
05:12Because cancer has always been one of the largest medical challenges for the human race.
05:20Cancer is a disease of mutations.
05:22And we all carry some gene mutations, but for the most part, for those of us who don't go on to develop cancer, we live with them.
05:31Cancer is a rogue ball of cells growing somewhere in a body and it's taking over those normal body processes.
05:39And they have all these really lethal traits, they move about around the body when they shouldn't, they don't die when they should.
05:49And that mutation that sat there suddenly now becomes very dangerous indeed.
05:55And I think about it as a malevolent alien, an alien within, and really hard to beat.
06:06At the Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre, Caroline is looking at cancer much closer than ever before, by investigating the fluid that links everything, blood.
06:21Hi guys, how's your day going?
06:28Oh, hi Chris.
06:30Yeah, can we have a look at the organoids?
06:32I know the data sounded really exciting, so I'd like just to have a look.
06:35Yes.
06:36All right.
06:40We're looking at the molecular level.
06:42With the new technologies we have at our fingertips, we can detect vanishingly small amounts of cancer cell DNA in a tube of blood.
06:56The answers are there, in the blood.
07:00We just have to find them.
07:01And to sort of give you an idea of the scale of the challenge, when we think about, you know, thousands of cells can fit on the head of a pin.
07:13And we're looking for clues, which tell us how a cancer cell is behaving now, and how that cancer cell may behave in the future.
07:26Only by knowing those details can we really solve the mysteries of cancer.
07:31We are discovering what makes cancer tick.
07:35My mission is to take those discoveries and translate them into useful, impactful tests.
07:44Because if we can catch cancers in the bloodstream, we should be able to certainly give patients a much longer lifespan, but in some cases cure.
07:54Caroline and her team work closely with one of Europe's leading cancer centres, the Christie.
08:06Hi, Lee, good morning. How are you today?
08:18All right, thank you.
08:19Oh, good. I'm just setting up for your bloods, OK?
08:22OK. Again.
08:23Again.
08:26Lee has been undergoing a series of conventional cancer treatments to slow down his cancer's growth.
08:31I think I've treated you a couple of times.
08:33Yeah, you have, yeah, yeah. I think everyone has now.
08:36Yeah.
08:38When you're talking to other cancer patients, it's like a game of top trumps.
08:43What cancer have you got then, and what have you got?
08:45And then they all say, oh, I've got prostate cancer, I've got bowel cancer.
08:49Well, what have you got? And I go, cancer unknown primary.
08:52What's that then?
08:53Other cancer patient, I haven't heard of it.
08:55I hadn't heard of it until I got to the Christie and said, this is what you've got.
09:00What I do before, though, is just do your pulse.
09:04At first, it was daunting, because the general life expectancy from cancer unknown primary is about nine months.
09:13Nearly nine months isn't a lot.
09:15So I think, right, what do I cram in in nine months?
09:18And then coming here and thinking, well, I'm coming here to pass me time.
09:23Yeah, sure.
09:28But when you come and you find out all the fantastic work, the doctors, the nurses, they're doing, everyone's fighting your corner.
09:35In every cancer, not just mine, they want to find a cure.
09:46We are learning more every day, and I am actually very optimistic that significant improvements are coming.
09:52But at the same time, you've got to have your motivation.
09:56And what better motivation can there be than walking through the corridors, seeing people with cancer?
10:05It's very fulfilling for me, having the National Biomarker Centre in the same building as the Christie Hospital.
10:11Let me just make sure that I've got all the pictures that I need.
10:15The idea is just to bring us all together in that same environment, the clinicians, the scientists.
10:21Hi, Natalie.
10:22We develop new laboratory tests, and then we test them in patients on clinical trials.
10:33In Lee's case, we want to find out where his cancer started.
10:37Because blood is circulating around the whole body, bathing wherever that tumour is, there's going to be blood flow.
10:46Let me just clean the area now.
10:47Because my veins now are starting to close because of all the treatments I've had, they put now a port into my vein there, you see it?
11:02And it's like a little valve there that you can access to get your blood rather than try and find a vein.
11:09You've had a lot of chemotherapy, haven't you?
11:11Yeah, so...
11:12So your veins have had enough.
11:13Yeah, they give up the gulf, yeah.
11:15We couldn't do research without people like Lee donating his blood samples.
11:22It's like a dart board, isn't it?
11:24Oh, I'm good at darts.
11:26For Lee to benefit from their findings, it's a race against the clock.
11:29Right, one, two, three, nice deep breath in.
11:31The more blood they take off me to try and find it, hopefully I can find where the cancer has come from, and then create a drug, anything to try and find a cure quicker.
11:46There we go.
11:47That's what I've donated for.
11:49I'm coming now.
11:51I'll have a pint left, what's a sec anyway?
11:53It's precious, isn't it, the blood?
11:57In Manchester, Caroline Dive is developing a series of revolutionary blood tests that can detect cancer at the molecular level.
12:16We're making momentous discoveries about the biology of cancer from a tube of blood.
12:24We take samples from patients, just maybe a tablespoon of their blood, it comes to the lab, and then the real challenge is to see how much we can learn from that tube of blood.
12:36One of these blood tests aims to detect cancer early enough to try and stop it before it can even get started.
12:44You have to know your enemy to have a good fight and to stand a chance of winning, and in this case, with cancer as the enemy, the younger you know that enemy, the better.
12:53It's critical that we detect cancers at their earliest stage.
12:58And the real question is, can we detect cancer even earlier, before cells transition into a cancerous state, that pre-cancerous state, when it's more treatable?
13:11And that's a huge challenge.
13:18Come on through.
13:22Pop your key on that chair for me, and then I need you to come and have a lie down for me.
13:27Yeah.
13:28Another patient, hoping to take part in a clinical trial, is 49-year-old Damien.
13:36He's having a check-up, following surgery a year ago, that removed a melanoma skin cancer from his back.
13:42They did say it's quite aggressive, luckily we caught it quite soon.
13:47But, you're thinking, the worst.
13:51When I went to the specialist, and they measure you up, and how much they're going to take, they draw it on your back, and it was like,
13:57Jesus, that's quite big, that.
13:59This was the start of it all, basically.
14:0423rd of July, I think it was.
14:072024.
14:07Yeah, it's funny to see how small it was at the time.
14:09It seemed so insignificant, but obviously, it ended up not being.
14:19I wouldn't have even known it were there.
14:23It was my son that's seen it.
14:25I'd got out of the shower, and she said, what's that on your back, Dad?
14:29And I looked in the mirror, and it looked a bit like a cocoa pop.
14:34After that period, it really grown quick.
14:38It went from, obviously, what you're seeing there, to that.
14:44That.
14:47Cancer's like an ugly thing that looks like it does harm and damage.
14:52That's what you pick up in your head, and looking at the picture, it looks like cancer.
14:59Soon after first spotting the growth, Damien went to get it checked, and then had to break the news to his family that it was skin cancer.
15:06I just felt sick.
15:09Well, you're scared to death.
15:11You know, ultimately, I could potentially lose my best friend, love of my life.
15:15We've been together 25 years, and that's not the plan.
15:19We're going to grow old together.
15:21I cannot imagine him not being by my side, for all that he drives me mad.
15:28I just can remember driving to work, really heartbroken, thinking, I don't know how this is going to impact us as a family now.
15:37Will Damien need a certain level of care or treatment?
15:40Has it spread?
15:41So, yeah, the whole thing implodes.
15:46I pray.
15:47Love one.
15:50They give you, like, a 25% chance that it could come back in the first year.
15:57You start reading up on the type of skin cancer, it's fast growing, it likes to travel, it likes to travel to your brain.
16:04And that was, like, the eye-opener for me.
16:07Jesus, it's not good.
16:09Well, I saw myself.
16:11You try not to, but you always think of, how long are you going to be here?
16:16Can I afford to keep the house?
16:17Can I keep my job?
16:19How can I look after the kids?
16:21You've never got that all clear, you never know.
16:23That's the scary thing.
16:33Today, Damien will find out if he is eligible for the detection trial that tests melanoma patients after surgery to try and determine if their cancer has recurred.
16:42Basically, I'm all clear at the moment, but it's weird, little aches and pains.
16:50Normally, you wouldn't even think twice about it.
16:52You think, could that be cancer back again?
16:54A little lich, where my wounds, bingenitis.
16:57All the little things that you don't really think of until you've got cancer.
17:04In the UK, around 18,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed every year.
17:10Okay, so local anesthetic, 20 mils, 0.25 with adrenaline.
17:15It's extraordinary, the progress that has been made in understanding how tumors behave.
17:21But there are limitations to all of our conventional types of treatment and detection of cancers.
17:28Know that this is a melanoma, 1.5 millimeters in thickness.
17:33Whilst we have incredibly talented people doing sophisticated surgery,
17:38what we don't know when the tumor is removed is whether every cancer cell in the body is gone.
17:45And those little tiny tumor cells that were in that original cancer had already moved around the body
17:52and landed in another organ, but haven't yet grown into big masses that can be seen with an imaging scan.
17:58If that's already happened, then there's a real chance that tumor might come back.
18:02Rather than detecting melanoma with a conventional CT scan, Caroline is proposing a groundbreaking new approach.
18:14So a tissue biopsy can tell you a lot about that tumor.
18:22However, accessing the tumor in the patient, particularly if that tumor is in a fairly inaccessible place,
18:28is very invasive for patients.
18:30And this has given rise to a whole new type of test called a liquid biopsy.
18:34Unlike a tumor biopsy, blood can be taken from a patient again and again and again without too much discomfort for the patient.
18:49And can we find everything we can at the molecular level from a tube of blood?
18:54So we diagnose cancer earlier, before it evolves.
19:01Is there something that these tumor cells are putting into the bloodstream that we can pick up?
19:11Your blood contains millions of cells and molecules floating around in a liquid called plasma.
19:16If you have cancer, there may also be cancer cells and dead bits of them hidden in your blood that have been shed from your tumor.
19:26Dead cancer cells can leak fragments of tumor DNA into the blood.
19:31But your blood also has millions of other fragments from your normal, healthy DNA.
19:37So finding a few fragments of circulating tumor DNA is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
19:50Because the burden of cancer in a human being is very low at this point,
19:55there are very few molecules that we'll be able to measure.
19:59So the test has to be very sensitive.
20:02You know, and when we first studied it, I don't know, 15 years ago,
20:09everybody was very, very doubtful that that would ever be a good thing to do.
20:13And the problem is not one I alone could solve.
20:21Dr Becky Lee is one of the clinical investigators working with the National Biomarker Centre.
20:26I've had, you know, a few eureka moments along the way and actually the detection trial is based off one of those eureka moments where you suddenly realise that actually you're seeing some data that no one else has seen.
20:43When I was a PhD student, I was really inspired by what Caroline was doing in her lab.
20:50We were looking at patients with advanced melanoma.
20:57I knew that we could detect cancer in patients with lots of cancer present.
21:05So then I just thought, can we bring this cancer detection test to an earlier stage where there wasn't any evidence of disease on the scan of patients?
21:17To see if we could still see whether the melanoma was present and that would be a signal of melanoma coming back.
21:25Becky used some blood samples from melanoma patients whose tumour had been removed by surgery and spent months analysing them to see if she could identify whether cancer DNA was still present.
21:37She sent her results to statisticians to check whether they matched with the patients whose melanoma later returned.
21:44That was a eureka moment when we suddenly knew that actually we had to, we were able to detect the CT DNA and it was able to predict this relapse.
21:55And that was the moment that detection was really born.
22:02It was incredible because it just came over on an email and there it was.
22:06Just was like, oh wow, this is amazing.
22:09I was like, everyone come and see.
22:11So yeah, it was, it was, it was cool.
22:14We started with liquid biopsy in the early 2000s. I think the first mutations that we measured in liquid biopsy were in breast cancer and then lung cancer, but it was really early days.
22:28We were just finding our way. We didn't use them at that point in clinical trials at all.
22:33It must be really incredible to kind of watch a field from its early existence to actually then making that difference to the patients.
22:43That's the advantage of being old. You can look back. You can go further to look back.
22:51After 10 years of refining the process in the lab, the liquid biopsy test is now ready to roll out into the clinic.
22:58If I can get on this trial, it takes away that worry for a simple blood test, which is non-invasive.
23:05It's taken about two minutes to have and have a team of brilliant people check you that thoroughly would be fantastic.
23:13So obviously you've now had your surgery and you've had the scan result, which hasn't shown any evidence that the melanoma is there, which is really good.
23:25Yeah.
23:26So I'm pleased to say that you're eligible to go on the trial.
23:31That's brilliant.
23:32Yeah.
23:35And one piece of the puzzle, really.
23:38Yeah.
23:39Because anything that reduces the risk was good, but as soon as I heard there was trial, I was, I'm definitely up for that one if I can get it.
23:46That's brilliant, that.
23:47Now we hope that we won't see any evidence of DNA coming from cancer cells and then you don't need any further treatment, which would be amazing.
23:56Yeah.
23:57But even if we did find the DNA present, we would be treating it at a really early stage where it's much more likely to respond.
24:06Yeah.
24:07But hopefully we'll never need to do that and we'll just monitor you very, very carefully with this blood test.
24:12Fingers crossed.
24:13Yeah.
24:14Yeah.
24:15Right, let's have a look at your veins.
24:24Oh, I can see some.
24:26Beautiful.
24:27Really big news to know that I've got the clinical trial today.
24:32Gives me big hope, not just for me, for my family as well.
24:35It eases their mind because it's not just me worried, it's everyone else in my family.
24:39It's going to sound really random, but all I've had in my head all morning is the Strictly theme tune.
24:46And that's all that's going round in my head.
24:49I get that sometimes, you have no idea where it's come from.
24:51Be careful or else I'll start dancing to the Strictly theme tune.
24:54Anything to break up the day.
24:56Exactly.
24:58It's not just another blood test, it's to say that you're cancer clear.
25:03Not only that, if they do find it, you're catching it as early as you possibly ever could.
25:07And it's immediate treatment, which is phenomenal.
25:12Scans can only pick up so much, whereas if you go into the depths of DNA in your blood,
25:18you can't get any more minute scale than that, can you?
25:22There we are. All done.
25:24Perfect.
25:28Damien's blood will be tested along with the other patients' blood samples
25:31to see if they can see any signs of cancer DNA present.
25:38This blood test is really moving things forward.
25:43Samples for you.
25:45In our current standard of care, patients will be offered regular scan follow-up.
25:52But generally, that's at least every three to six months.
25:55So this blood test is getting that result back within ten days.
26:04We don't want to hang around where cancer is concerned.
26:08We want to get ahead of it.
26:09Once the samples are in the lab, the meticulous analysis begins.
26:22To find the circulating tumour DNA, first everything else in the blood that's not DNA is removed.
26:27Then all the fragments in the sample are compared with the patient's own healthy DNA.
26:35If scientists spot DNA fragments that don't match, it could mean the patient has cancer.
26:41And what, of course, we're all hoping for, for Damien, is a negative test.
26:49And there is no sign of tumour.
26:51And with these blood tests, we can keep a really close eye on Damien.
26:55And if his tumour comes back, we can pick it up quickly.
26:58I think we can't overpromise. It's really important that we don't.
27:09From a patient perspective, this is a clinical trial.
27:13This test is not yet available, for example, on the NHS.
27:17So we're testing the test.
27:19There's a lot more work to do, but I'm very hopeful.
27:21Basically, you want peace of mind that I'm all clear.
27:28For now.
27:45Seagulls, Mum. Look, see, there's the first one.
27:47I reckon that bit goes there, though. I'll try that bit.
27:52Yes, that bit goes there as well.
27:54Good.
27:56Cracking along nicely now.
27:58Cooking on Gas.
28:00I just find it really therapeutic.
28:02Well, it's nice to sit with Mum and do something we can both do together.
28:05And I just find it very satisfying when the pieces go in,
28:08because most of the time, the tasks that I perform are very long-term
28:12and not often completed in a day.
28:14So it's nice just to have something you can get done.
28:19She was a terrible baby. She would not sleep.
28:22In the end, I got so frustrated, I took her to the doctor.
28:26And the doctor examined her, looked at her ears, looked at her eyes,
28:30looked at everything.
28:32And he said, I can't think anything's wrong with her, he said.
28:35I think she's got an overactive brain.
28:37There you go.
28:38She would do very well in life.
28:43I had a fantastic childhood.
28:45We lived in a public school in Sussex, because my father was the head porter.
28:53Didn't have any money, and I went to a state school.
28:56But yeah, I saw, if you like, how the other half live.
28:59But I never felt hard done by, I just thought I lived in a really nice place,
29:03with parents who really cared about what happened next in terms of my life.
29:08My dad, one of his top tips in my youth was, you know, every time you go to bed,
29:13just think about what did I learn today.
29:16He loved learning and knowledge.
29:19And he didn't get a very good education himself.
29:22I think he left school at something like 13 years old.
29:24Oh, and he was quite clever.
29:26I mean, he could have done very well.
29:28He was clever, he was a smart guy.
29:30And I think, you know, he just wanted you to be the best you could possibly be
29:34at everything you tried to do.
29:36And I think, you know, the need to achieve, I think, is sort of hardwired.
29:39He was, he was just a lovely man. We miss him dreadfully. It's, I wish he was here.
29:52He died two years ago now, almost.
29:57His liver was filled with masses of tumours on a scan.
30:03He became so ill, and seeing him that ill,
30:06Yeah, it was difficult because his last three months were pretty miserable.
30:10But up until that point, he was strong and resilient and fought his way through it with great, great dignity, actually.
30:18Every time I saw him, the last thing he said was, I love you.
30:21You know, it was emotional.
30:26You know, you never did know when was the last time.
30:28And on his death certificate, it said cancer of unknown primary, which is an intriguing type of cancer.
30:39That has a very personal importance to me now.
30:44And we've been working together now for many years to try and solve that problem.
30:48And it will be a special moment for me to see the work we're doing now that could help patients with cancer of unknown primary in the future.
30:58Because it must be awful knowing you've got cancer but not knowing where it's come from,
31:03with perhaps not a great chance of improvement.
31:05In 2021, I found two little lumps on my ribcage at the back.
31:17So I weren't really concerned about the lumps, it was the pain.
31:21The pain was more towards my kidney.
31:24And over the weeks, the pain got worse.
31:26I understand how people with pain could take their own life because I honestly thought about it.
31:36Because the pain was that bad.
31:39I'm glad it didn't.
31:43But yeah, it was dark.
31:49Lee was diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary after a mass of tumours were discovered in his kidney.
31:54When I got the cancer, I thought, cancer's cancer, that's it.
31:59But then to be told, cancer's unknown primary.
32:02I didn't understand what that meant.
32:04You think to yourself, why? Why can't you find it?
32:06How I look at this, and it's dead simple.
32:09I woke up one morning, and the little cancer gremlin's gone, it's your turn today.
32:13But you're having this special one.
32:16You're having one we can't find.
32:17And that's what the doctors say.
32:18Doctors find patients like Lee so mysterious, because unlike all other cancer patients, nobody knows where their cancer first began.
32:29When a cancer starts, it's called a primary cancer, and its type is determined by its location.
32:39Over time, cancer cells can break off and spread to other organs forming secondary cancers.
32:47This is called metastasis.
32:52When doctors don't know where the cancer started, it's called cancer of unknown primary.
32:57This is a perplexing type of cancer, because patients have advanced disease.
33:10Only when you know where the tumour started can you have a really rational discussion about what the right treatment would be.
33:20Why does that matter for treatment?
33:22Because it has a different biology.
33:25So it requires a different sort of treatment.
33:30At the moment, there is no personalised treatment for patients with cancer of unknown primary.
33:35I think there's an idea that, you know, if you have a cancer in the brain, it must be brain cancer.
33:42That's not true.
33:44If you sequence the DNA of a primary lung cancer, and let's say that primary lung cancer moves and starts to grow in the brain,
33:52and then you took that metastatic secondary lesion in the brain and sequenced it,
33:56it would look more like the lung cancer than it would like anything that comes from the brain.
34:00Okay, Lee, this is going to be 30 minutes?
34:04Yeah.
34:05Perfect.
34:07Have you had any reaction in the past?
34:08No.
34:10Because Lee's cancer was discovered so late, it's spread, and it's inoperable.
34:16So Lee began a series of traditional treatments.
34:19I had my first chemo session, and they scanned me, and it shrunk to half.
34:24So the chemo, it was doing somewhat.
34:29So they gave me another three sessions of chemotherapy, and said they're bringing this new drug out called immunotherapy.
34:36So that's going to be 30 minutes? Any problem? Just let me know.
34:39I will do.
34:40I also had 10 sessions of radiotherapy, which pinpoints the cancer.
34:46So it's like lasers, I think, and it burns it, but it can cause other side effects.
34:52Like, because it was so close to my kidney, it could have destroyed my kidney, but luckily it didn't.
34:57So I had more chemo than the immunotherapy, which is, it's keeping me here.
35:02Touch wood.
35:04Despite being given just nine months to live, Lee has been receiving treatment at the Christie Hospital for three years.
35:13He's been under the care of Dr Natalie Cook, a leading expert in cancer of unknown primary.
35:21We had multiple different investigations, ultrasound scans, CT scans, MRI scans, biopsies.
35:27And after all of that, we did not find out anything that would help personalise his treatment options.
35:34Unfortunately, prognosis remains quite poor for most patients diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary.
35:40Often it's around about three to six months, but obviously Lee's done significantly better than that.
35:46We don't know exactly why he's responded to immunotherapy, but it's under control.
35:50So he remains a true cancer of unknown primary, which is annoying to me,
35:55because I do like to try and find out where the cancer started, and in his case, it truly is still a mystery.
36:00Have a seat, Lee.
36:05Right, how are you feeling today?
36:07All right.
36:08Yes?
36:09Since we last saw you here, has there been any changes?
36:11Nothing, no.
36:12No.
36:13No, so feeling generally okay in yourself?
36:14Brilliant, yeah.
36:15No pain.
36:16Okay.
36:17No, I think you're definitely one of the kind of lucky ones, because the chemotherapy worked really well.
36:21Yeah.
36:22And that seems to be keeping things under control, doesn't it?
36:24Yeah, I've done like 53 or 54 treatments now.
36:27Yeah, let me just go back to when you first started was on, was February 2022.
36:35Right.
36:36So over three years now, so that's amazing.
36:38I understand, but if you can't find a primary source of a cancer, you're not going to cure it.
36:43You can't, you can generally look after it.
36:45But I'm not holding out, because if you can't find it after three years and a half, I think it's hidden itself.
36:52But I'm still here and fighting in the corner.
36:54Yes.
36:55That's what you'd like to see in long.
36:56May it continue, basically.
36:57Yeah, I feel really good at the moment.
36:59Yeah, she's my guardian angel.
37:01No, don't put that on camera.
37:04Natalie's investigations uncovered that little research had been done in this particular field.
37:15So, she got in touch with Caroline to get her help.
37:18Together, we've been able to develop this test that we call CUPID, Cancer of Unknown Primary Identification, or CUPID.
37:27And we're hoping that by taking a blood sample from a patient, we can have a pretty good idea of where that tumour started.
37:34This blood test is a little different in as much as we look at the fragments of cancer cell DNA shed into the bloodstream.
37:48But we can also look for the pattern of molecules which are on it.
37:54And those patterns, it's a bit like a postcode.
37:58They can tell us which organ in the body the tumour started off in.
38:03So, if you have a tumour that starts in the liver, guess what?
38:08It'll have a liver postcode.
38:10We can measure those postcodes in the DNA, and we can tell you where the tumour started from.
38:17In order to isolate this data, they use metal beads coated in a protein which the tumour DNA will bind to.
38:27A magnetic strip then attracts the DNA-coated beads, enabling them to extract the molecules.
38:34Millions of pieces of DNA are then analysed, allowing their codes to be read.
38:40We can now be fairly confident that we can predict a cancer of unknown primary started in the lung, or it started in the colon, in the gut.
38:49And I think for those common cancers of unknown primary, within two weeks of the patient arriving in clinic,
38:57I think we'll be able to make a diagnosis of where their cancer started.
39:02But also the opportunity to direct a better treatment to your particular cancer.
39:08So, it's new pioneering work that we really feel we can do something to fix.
39:14Caroline and Natalie have collected hundreds of blood samples from people with known cancers,
39:20and are building an atlas of postcodes to map out where the cancer comes from.
39:25So far, the test can match unknown primaries to 29 common cancers.
39:31But with over 200 different types of cancer, there's still a long way to go.
39:36I know it's incurable, but hopefully it's manageable with all these treatments.
39:46Now, I know they're not going to last forever.
39:48I know at a time they're going to say,
39:53we've either got a cure for you, and we've found it,
39:59or they're going to say, there's not a lot more we can do.
40:03It does bother me why I've got cancer,
40:07because I don't know why I've got cancer.
40:10No-one in my family has had it, so why me?
40:14That's the answer that I think most cancer patients want.
40:17Why? What have I done?
40:20It'd be nice to be told, right.
40:23We've found where the cancer has come from.
40:26Hopefully, it'll be sooner than later.
40:33That's the life that we strive for.
40:51Sat there with a glass of whiskey watching the day go by.
40:54Definitely look forward to her reaching retirement age.
40:59Damien is waiting to get the results from the trial,
41:05to find out if any cancer DNA is still present in his blood.
41:08No-one ever looks forward to finding out if they've still got cancer or not.
41:13Obviously, everything runs through your mind.
41:16I don't want to get ill.
41:17I don't want my family to see me getting ill.
41:20Obviously, I want to be ill.
41:22I want to see my grandkids grow up.
41:24I want to enjoy life with them.
41:26So, yeah, it certainly plays on your mind a fair bit.
41:31After analysing all the data from the trial,
41:40Becky must also bring those results back to the patients taking part.
41:44We have a job where things can be fantastic for one patient
41:49and then go to another patient and it's awful.
41:53And you're about to tell them something
41:55that's really going to change their life again.
41:58Hi.
42:11Hi, Damien. It's Becky Lee, the consultant.
42:14Hi, are you OK?
42:16Just to let you know that your result is negative.
42:25So, great news.
42:28Brilliant. Thank you. That's fantastic news.
42:32Fantastic.
42:34No.
42:35No, that's lovely. The sun's shining.
42:37So, couldn't have been a better day.
42:39OK, well, I'll speak to you soon.
42:42Brilliant. Bye.
42:43Thank you. Bye-bye.
42:44Bye-bye.
42:45Bye-bye.
42:46Bye-bye.
42:47Bye-bye.
42:48Bye-bye.
42:49Bye-bye.
42:50Bye-bye.
42:51Bye-bye.
42:52Couldn't be any better.
42:53Bank holiday on the horizon.
42:55Spend time with my family.
42:57With the all clear for now.
42:58Fantastic.
42:59Hi, Dal.
43:01How's it gone?
43:02Yeah, just got the phone call and we've got the all clear.
43:04Oh, brilliant.
43:05Hope it's gone forever now.
43:06Yep.
43:07Onwards, we can plan the weekend now.
43:08I'll see you later, Dal.
43:09See you, babe.
43:10Bye.
43:11Bye.
43:12Bye.
43:13Bye.
43:14I think it's becoming very clear that biomarker tests in blood are changing how we even think
43:34about the early detection of cancer. They really are changing the game. I think it's
43:41the golden age of cancer research. It's massively exciting. You know, and at the moment, patients
43:47are giving blood in the hospital, but you might like to think in the years to come, we'll
43:51wear a wearable device. Your smart watch or whatever it is you're wearing will say, beep,
43:57beep, beep, it's the first Tuesday in the month. Pop down to your pharmacy to give your
44:02blood in. It's your routine blood test for cancer. You know, we're not there yet, but
44:09it's, it's a nice future to think about because, you know, it is doable. And I think we'll get there.
44:15All right, boys. All right, son. All right. All right. See?
44:23Three years on from his diagnosis, the mystery of where Lee's cancer started remains unsolved.
44:29All right, Mary? All right, Lee? Fellas? It's all right? Oh, shit. Stop swearing.
44:37I don't think these lot drink in a Catholic club, would you?
44:41Who's on next? I've decided now cancer won't meet me. It's not going to get me down.
44:53Oh, lucky, mate. Because there's nothing I can do about it. So why worry? Why sit at home
44:59and go, why me? Why me? It's me. And now we're three and a half years in. I'm still late now.
45:05Still enjoying myself, so...
45:11You know, Dr Cook said to me, and this gives you hope, and she said,
45:17what's not curable today could be curable tomorrow.
45:23The lads will pull us through.
45:27You can't give up life. It's too precious.
45:31You've got to maintain that up.
45:36Listen, I'll go to heaven, mate.
45:38Yeah. Only if gates are locked downstairs.
45:42I tell you, I'm going to heaven.
45:47I'll let you open the gate for me.
45:50LAUGHTER
46:17Hi to the world.
46:20I'm X.
46:21Hi.
46:23What are the royalties?
46:25Hi.
46:27Hi.
46:28Hi.
46:31Hi.
46:32Hi.
46:33Hi.
46:35Hi.
46:37Hi.
46:39Hi.
46:41Hi.
46:42Hi.
46:43Hi.
46:44Hi.
46:45Hi.
46:47You
Recommended
1:25:45
|
Up next
2:13:53
47:53
28:56
46:43
46:29
47:15
47:58
47:58
47:55
23:17
46:21
1:03:41
1:13:55
1:24:20
1:23:00
1:22:58
1:22:27
Be the first to comment