Mum urges personalised brain cancer treatment

The mum of the late brain cancer campaigner Laura Nuttall has said new therapies are urgently needed since there have been "literally no new treatments for 20-odd years".

Nicola Nuttall's daughter, of Barrowford in Lancashire, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in 2018 and died, aged 23, in May 2023 after working her way through a bucket list of goals including meeting Michelle Obama.

On Monday the Brain Cancer Justice group's campaign for more research funding was discussed in Parliament after a petition was signed by more than 100,000 people.

Nicola said: "We need funding, but we don't just need money to be allocated, we need it to be spent."

"The treatment for brain cancer hasn't changed in decades," she told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"It's radiotherapy, surgery if you're lucky, and one type of chemo.

"We couldn't believe that was all that was available [to Laura] so we spent a lot of time researching and finding things that were available in other countries."

Laura was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, following a routine eye test.

She went on to work her way through her list of ambitions and graduated from the University of Manchester despite having treatment in Germany for one week every month.

"She lived for four-and-a-half years when her initial prognosis was 12 months, so we're pretty convinced something that we did made a difference," Nicola said.

"But those things aren't available on the NHS and they're not available unless you seek them out and find the money to pay for them and that's not fair.

"It's very much a cancer on its own because everyone's brain tumour is slightly different, but we treat them all with one drug.

"The onus is on you to do your own research and fundraising."

The Brain Cancer Justice group is also urging the government to expand access to clinical trials for all brain tumour patients and to accelerate diagnostics and treatment.

Nicola said: "We're doing well in terms of raising awareness, but we now need that to translate into action.

"Treatment Laura was given when she was diagnosed in 2018 hasn't changed since, and hadn't changed in the 10 years before her diagnosis.

"We need to personalise that treatment."

The Brain Tumour Charity says brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40, yet accounts for just 1% of cancer research funding.

After hearing the debate, Health Minister Sharon Hodgson assured Westminster Hall that the government would "fund high-quality" brain cancer research.

The Department of Health and Social Care previously said it was "establishing a national Brain Tumour Research Consortium" and announced a £13.7m investment to support groundbreaking research to develop novel treatments.

It said it continued to work closely with researchers and charities to accelerate progress and innovation and bring hope to those affected.

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