An 11-year-old boy is now cancer-free thanks to a pioneering new drug that is less toxic and more targeted than traditional chemotherapy.

Arthur, who was diagnosed with leukemia, is one of the first children to be given blinatumomab, or blina, as part of a trial at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The drug is administered through a plastic tube running into a vein in the patient’s arm for weeks or months at a time, attached to a backpack carrying the drug – meaning fewer trips to hospital for treatment. 

But more importantly, the drug is much kinder on the body, meaning fewer side-effects.

Arthur had a tough time on chemotherapy, his mum Sandrine said. The treatment left him very weak, and did not clear all of the cancer.

‘[The blina] came after two rounds of chemotherapy, and we had slowly slipped into Arthur being more withdrawn, sleeping more and becoming weaker, alternating with the periods on steroids where he would be ravenous and hyperactive,’ said Sandrine.

‘It was completely out of his control, we were living in a constant challenge as his body was getting hit by the drugs.

‘We were curing him by making him feel worse, it’s a very difficult thing to process.’

The change not only meant Arthur felt much better – and was able to enjoy playing outside again – but allowed him to manage most of the treatment at home. He returned to hostpital every four days for doctors to top up the kit, but otherwise was able to live at home.

‘He enjoyed the fact that he was able to hold it and be responsible – he embraced all of it,’ said Sandrine.

Unlike chemotherapy, which is incredibly toxic to the body, blina is precisely targeted. The drug seeks out cancer cells so the body’s own immune system can identify and kill them, leaving health cells untouched.

A battery-operated pump in the backpack controls the flow of drugs into the patient. The backpack, about the size of an A4 piece of paper, is easy to carry around – allowing Arthur to enjoy the swings in his local park while wearing it – and can be left nearby while sleeping.

Alongside being kinder to patients, blina could also be more effective – doctors think it could replace up to 80% of chemotherapy for patients like Arthur. Around 450 children a year are diagnosed with the same B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

‘This study has shown the treatment can work and will hopefully be the platform to see how we can use it to help more children,’ said chief investigator and consultant paediatric haematologist Prof Ajay Vora.

‘It’s important we continually push ourselves to find not only the most effective but also the kindest treatments.’

Following the trial, Arthur had his blina tube removed in April – and was recently given the all-clear.

‘New Year was when we found out that the blina had worked and there was no residual cancer,’ said Sandrine, speaking to the BBC. 

‘That was just amazing and so we had double celebrations.’

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