Newcastle cancer trial leaves teenager with no visible signs of tumours

An 18-year-old with a rare form of bone and soft-tissue cancer currently has no visible tumours after receiving an experimental treatment at Newcastle’s Great North Children’s Hospital.

Noah Hyslop, from North Ayrshire, was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma after developing leg pain in September 2023. He underwent 14 rounds of chemotherapy and 33 rounds of radiotherapy in Glasgow and entered remission in July 2024, but the cancer later returned in his shoulder and spread to his lungs.

After previous treatment stopped controlling the disease, Noah joined a clinical trial in Newcastle in February 2026. He has now completed 11 treatment cycles, with recent scans showing no sign of the tumours previously found in his lungs.

The trial is testing an investigational antibody drug for Ewing sarcoma that has progressed or failed to respond to earlier treatment. It targets a protein involved in removing damaged or abnormal cells, with the aim of activating a pathway that may prevent cancer cells from growing and spreading. Noah receives the drug every three weeks alongside two chemotherapy medicines already approved in the UK.

Noah said the treatment had helped him reach his 18th birthday, while his father, Paul, described the results as feeling “like a miracle”. The family thanked the Newcastle team for giving them hope after several relapses.

Doctors stressed that the international trial remains ongoing and more evidence is needed to understand the treatment’s longer-term effectiveness. However, Dr Quentin Campbell-Hewson, who leads the study locally, said Noah’s response was highly encouraging and could point towards a treatment that is both more effective and kinder for people with this difficult-to-treat cancer.

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