Scots youngster to have inoperable rare tumour treated in US medical trial

An Edinburgh schoolboy has been approved for a medical trial in the US after he was diagnosed with a grade four brain tumour.

Edinburgh Live reports that eight-year-old Rudi Abbot has been “officially accepted” for a pilot programme of immunotherapy that his family hopes will slow or stop the growth of the mass on his brain.

He is to be one of the first children in the world to undergo trials of the treatment for his grade four pineoblastoma – a rare type of cancer that accounts for less than one in 100 of all brain tumours, according to Cancer Research UK.

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In an update posted to the family’s fundraising page this week, Rudi’s dad Ben said: “We’ve been officially accepted for the trial in Seattle!

“Rudi will be the pilot case for allowing other international children the potential access to this treatment. This is such a massive moment! It can’t be overstated!

“We’ve officially overcome the often seemingly insurmountable obstacles of being a non-US citizen and not being eligible for US health insurance!

“We’re not getting carried away, this is not a cure, this is a phase one trial.

“Immunotherapy treatment for brain tumours is still in its infancy, any potential benefits offered require ongoing, repeated expensive treatment cycles.

“From the family’s point of view, getting over the line to give Rudi the chance of this trial has been tortuous and utterly nerve shredding!”

The Edinburgh lad’s family are fundraising to treat him abroad

Earlier this year, the Record reported that Rudi had been diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of just six.

He underwent treatment that initially proved successful in April 2021 – but in February this year an MRI scan revealed to his heartbroken family that the tumour had returned.

With treatment options in the UK exhausted, the Abbots turned to fundraising in the hope of sending their “kind and funny” little lad abroad.

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The GoFundMe has so far attracted nearly £90,000 of charitable donations to support Rudi’s treatment.

As well as a £10,000 donation from the Azaylia Foundation – a charity that supports children with cancer who cannot be treated in the UK – the fundraiser has spread throughout the community, with a number of events organised to support Rudi.

One, organised by Robbie West, a friend of the family, has seen himself and others from the police force completing 100 press ups a day for a month, with the 38-year-old describing Rudi’s condition as “every parent’s worst nightmare.”

Another local man, David Boyd, has organised a 12-hour boxing stint to raise funds, while Civerinos Slice at Portobello will be running a charity volleyball match on the beach on Sunday May 8.

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