COWDENBEATH — Pat Brogan’s tumors have shrunk by almost a third after he joined a 2025 clinical trial for an experimental drug called GRWD5769. Brogan, a Cowdenbeath man diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2021, had undergone chemotherapy and immunotherapy for about three years before his tumors began growing again.
Brogan sought medical advice after losing his voice, and hospital scans revealed tumors affecting his vocal cords. He was then offered a choice between more intensive chemotherapy or enrollment in the clinical trial. The trial involves GRWD5769, a drug designed to prevent cancer cells from hiding from the immune system, thereby enabling immunotherapy to target and kill diseased cells.
“When I was first diagnosed nearly five years ago, I was getting ready to say my goodbyes. To be here, and to be living a relatively normal life, is a miracle. My mum, sister and dad had all died from cancer, so I thought that the run of awful luck might have ended with me,” Brogan said.
Describing the treatment as having “given me my life back,” Brogan said he now enjoyed “a good quality of life,” including daily walks with his dog, Seamus. “We spent a lot of time in Spain before my diagnosis, and now we’re planning to go back for a holiday. My daughter is getting married in June and I’ll be able to walk her down the aisle – something I never thought I’d be able to do.”
Before his illness, Brogan worked for Scottish Water for 35 years. “I’m so grateful to Prof Stefan Symeonides and his team in Edinburgh, and to all the other patients who have taken part in cancer research before me. I wouldn’t have the life I have now without them.” Results from the GRWD5769 clinical trial were presented at the world’s largest oncology conference in Chicago.