The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust shared on LinkedIn:
“On Thursday 29 October, Yvette Cooper, Health and Social Care Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, visited The Royal Marsden to speak with clinicians, research scientists and patients about our breast cancer research and treatment.
The Secretary of State (SoS) was given a tour of the Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research by CEO Dame Cally Palmer and Chief Medical Officer Professor Sanjay Popat, as well as Professor Kristian Helin, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, where she heard from Director of Clinical Research and Development, Professor Nick Turner, and Clinical Director of Genomics, Dr Angela George.
She heard about the FAST-Forward Boost trial from Chief Investigator of the trial, Professor Anna Kirby, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden and Professor in Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer at The Institute of Cancer Research.
The trial, funded by the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research), is investigating whether a full course of radiotherapy, including an additional tumour-site ‘boost’ dose, can be safely delivered in just five days rather than up to three weeks, which would cut treatment time by up to 75 per cent.
More than 1000 people have joined the FAST-Forward Boost trial, and it has been expanded to 39 hospitals and cancer centres across the UK.
Professor Anna Kirby, said: ‘Reaching 1,000 participants is a fantastic milestone. It reflects the commitment of patients and clinical teams across the UK to answering an important question about how we can improve breast radiotherapy for patients.’
Yvette Cooper said: ‘This trial shows how the UK is using our world beating research capabilities to pursue huge improvements and transformations in cancer treatment for patients in our NHS.
‘This programme is aiming to radically shorten the treatment times for breast cancer – to support patients and save more lives. The UK is home to some of the best medical research and clinical expertise in the world, and this trial is the latest example of what we can achieve when we bring them together.’
Other posts about The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust on OncoDaily.