Patients whose lives were ruined after being ‘needlessly given cancer drug for years’ sue NHS trust

More than 20 patients who say their quality of life was wrecked when they were needlessly given a highly toxic cancer drug are suing the NHS trust involved.

Some people were prescribed temozolomide – which should normally be used for only six months – for more than a decade during treatment by the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

They say the overprescribing left them with side-effects including secondary cancers and crippling fatigue.

Earlier this year the Care Quality Commission was looking into at least 14 cases, but lawyers say more are emerging all the time. An investigation by lawyers Brabners found that, over the past two decades, numerous patients with brain and spinal tumours under the care of Professor Ian Brown were routinely exposed to prolonged and in some cases “unnecessary” use of the chemotherapy drug, which has severe side-effects including extreme fatigue, confusion, sickness and seizures.

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Source: The Independent, 6 August 2025