An eminent doctor of Indian origin in Britain, Tony Dhillon, has given new hope to the treatment of bowel cancer. The development of this vaccine can open a new chapter in the treatment of intestinal cancer. His work is not only an important contribution to the medical world, but it is also a ray of hope for those who are battling this deadly disease. His efforts can not only give a new direction to the treatment of intestinal cancer but can also develop a new thinking towards this disease in future.
Know who is Dr. Tony Dhillon
According to the news published in Times of India, Dr. Tony Dhillon has started working on a new vaccine for intestinal cancer. 53-year-old Dr Dhillon’s grandfather came to Britain in the 1950s from a village in Jalandhar district of Punjab and worked in a Brylcreem factory here. Dr. Dhillon is a consultant oncologist at the Royal Surrey Hospital Trust and also a senior lecturer in oncology. He has worked on this intestinal cancer vaccine with Professor Tim Price of Australia for the last 5 years.
15 percent of patients will be able to get treatment
This vaccine is not for all patients suffering from intestinal cancer, but is effective only for 15% of the patients. Three doses of this vaccine are given before surgery so that the body’s immune system can kill the cancer cells. Dr. Dhillon says, "Our estimate is that when patients go for the operation, the amount of cancer in them will be greatly reduced, and in some people it may even be completely gone. We need to prove it by conducting trials, and that is what we are going to do."
Parents used to work in a factory
This vaccine has been designed by Immugene, an Australian clinical-stage immuno-oncology company. 44 patients will participate in the Phase 2 trial. Dr. Dhillon’s grandfather first lived in Southall, then moved to Maidenhead to work in a Brylcreem factory. His father came in the early 1960s and in 1967 his mother came to Bilga, Jalandhar to marry his father. Both his parents worked in factories. Dr. Dhillon says that his parents did not get schooling and probably did not even know what work they did. Dr. Dhillon himself studied at UCL for medical school, did his PhD from Imperial College London and did post-graduation from Oxford. He is the lead researcher of this trial.