A pioneering treatment is showing promising results for patients battling advanced kidney cancer.

The disease is hard to treat when it has spread to other organs, with survival rates less than 5%, but The Christie is spearheading a specialist immunotherapy treatment which uses the body's immune system to fight cancer cells.

The Journal of Immunotherapy has published results from 72 patients treated at the Christie over the last few years. These show that with careful selection around one quarter (25%) of the patients who were treated are now in complete remission after taking high doses of the drug interleukin-2.  Interleukins are made in the laboratory to boost the immune system in cancer therapy.

The Christie's international kidney cancer specialist Professor Robert Hawkins led the  seven year study and said; "There have been major improvements in the treatment of kidney cancer and Interleukin is fairly toxic compared to some newer treatments so it is important to assess its role.

"This series of patients shows that it can produce very high-rates of response with long-term remissions in carefully selected kidney cancer patients. Such long-term complete remissions are very rarely seen with other treatments so we are very excited with the excellent outcome.

"These results are achieved through an expert team of pathologists, nurses, surgeons working together with the oncologists. We are also working with researchers across the world, looking at ways we can improve the effectiveness immunotherapy in general so it can be used in a wider variety of cancers."

Andrea Spencer-Shaw, renal nurse specialist at The Christie said "This it a difficult treatment for patients and we work together to deliver it safely. It is very gratifying to see patients who had advanced kidney cancer coming back free of all signs of disease and leading a normal life without the need for long term treatment."

One patient who has benefitted from the trial is Heidi Morter, 41 from Northwich.  The mum of three was diagnosed with kidney cancer just months after getting married. 

The disease spread to her liver and lungs and she assumed there was no hope.  After being transferred to The Christie she was offered the chance to go on the trial.

Heidi said; "Because of my age and because I've always been fit and healthy, Professor Hawkins thought the immunotherapy trial could work for me and introduced me to another patient who had had it and was in remission.

"I agreed to go on the trial straight away as I was eager to try anything.  I'm not going to say it was easy going and like any sort of treatment there are side effects, but I was so happy when I was told I was in remission.  Professor Hawkins saved my life and I am very grateful."

The Christie in Manchester is the largest single-site cancer centre in Europe and an international leader in cancer.  It runs the largest early clinical trials unit in the world, with 200 trials being undertaken at any one time.

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