New tablet from Christie keeps man with advanced prostate cancer alive for another decade

Jim was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2011. Credit: The Christie

A man with advanced prostate cancer has enjoyed more than 10 years of stable health after taking a new pill in a clinical trial.

Jim Thornhill, from Sale in Greater Manchester, was one of the first patients at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust to be recruited to the world’s largest clinical trial for prostate cancer.

He is still enjoying good health thanks to a new hormone tablet he takes every day.

At the time of diagnosis Jim’s PSA (the protein produced in the prostate) was dangerously high at 89. Normal levels are between 2.5 and 4.0.

After just six months on the clinical trial Jim’s PSA level had dropped dramatically so it was undetectable.

For the past 11 years Jim has been given a hormone injection every 12 weeks and takes abiraterone daily as a tablet along with a steroid.

Jim's cancer is incurable but this new treatment has allowed him to live a longer life Credit: The Christie

The idea is to add abiraterone, a new type of hormone therapy, to the standard treatment for locally advanced prostate cancer, where the cancer has a high chance of spreading to certain areas, which could halve the risk of death from the disease for patients.

In 2011 Jim, a retired engineer decided to go to the doctor after he was unable to pass urine whilst he was on a cruise with his wife Anne.

He went straight to his GP and a biopsy showed he had stage 4, the most advanced stage, prostate cancer. It had spread to the lymph nodes and wasn’t curable.

The Christie is a cancer treatment centre in Manchester Credit: PA Images

With radiotherapy not possible due to the spread of the disease, and with few options available to him, Jim was offered the opportunity to join a clinical trial.

He became one of the first patients to join the 'STAMPEDE' trial at The Christie in Manchester. The trial was designed for men with an aggressive form of prostate cancer where the cancer hadn't yet spread.

Jim Thornhill said: “I feel very lucky. I’ve enjoyed 11 years of good health thanks to the clinical trial and seen my grandsons grow up.

“I actually like going to The Christie as I’ve known the team for over a decade and we’re like old friends. I think they’re wonderful. They don’t rush you and you feel confident they know what they’re doing."

The clinical trial has largely been a success. Credit: PA Images

Professor Noel Clarke, Urological Surgeon and Professor of Urological Oncology at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, said; “Jim’s cancer isn’t curable, but this new treatment combination has extended his life and enabled him to continue to live his life symptom-free.

"We have very strong evidence that using abiraterone alongside the current standard treatments reduces prostate cancer deaths significantly in men with high-risk disease which has not yet spread beyond the prostate. Use of this combination therapy could improve outcomes for thousands of men every year.”

Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “We hope more people like Jim could soon benefit from this innovative research, by being offered abiraterone before their cancer has spread.”

Around 1 in 8 men get prostate cancer. Up to 52,000 people are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK, and around 22,000 patients are considered at “high-risk” of their cancer spreading.

One third of those diagnosed have the aggressive form of the disease which is ‘localised’ meaning that it hasn’t spread to other parts of the body.

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