Proton beam therapy first for cancer patient

An NHS state of the art proton beam therapy machine for cancer is set to treat the first patient in England at The Christie in Manchester this month, marking a major milestone for NHS care.

Speaking at Britain Against Cancer in London, Cally Palmer, national cancer director for NHS England, announced that the organisation’s £130 million investment to radically upgrade radiotherapy equipment has already funded 80 new or upgraded LINAC radiotherapy machines, which will transform cancer treatment across England.

Proton beam therapy is a specialist form of radiotherapy that targets certain cancers very precisely, increasing success rates and reducing side-effects. It targets tumours with less damage to surrounding healthy tissue and is particularly appropriate for certain cancers in children who are at risk of lasting damage to organs that are still growing.

With approximately four in 10 of all NHS cancer patients treated with radiotherapy, The Christie opened their NHS proton beam therapy centre earlier this year. Now, the first patient is already undergoing preparation for their treatment this month. University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is due to follow The Christie in offering this type of treatment for patients in summer 2020.

Palmer said: “There have been huge advances in precision cancer treatment which hundreds of thousands of patients across the UK are now benefiting from. The first NHS patient undergoing high energy proton beam therapy in England marks a major milestone for the NHS and, as the NHS develops a long term plan for the future, it also marks the end of the first phase of the plans to radically transform cancer treatment across the country.”

Roger Spencer, chief executive of The Christie, said: “To be just days away from offering high energy proton beam therapy to patients in the UK for the very first time is really exciting. Patients will benefit hugely from having the service available in Manchester bringing treatment closer for them and their families who currently have to travel abroad, and resulting in less upheaval during what is undoubtedly an extremely stressful time in their lives.”