WORLD-LEADING CANCER TREATMENT AND CARE

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, ranked among the world's leading centres for cancer research, and pioneering treatment and care for international patients, has opened a new private care facility on Cavendish Square

Rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), The Royal Marsden is located in Chelsea and Sutton. It has recently expanded its private care presence to Cavendish Square, in the heart of the capital’s world-renowned healthcare district. The Royal Marsden is a centre of excellence with an international reputation for ground-breaking research and pioneering the very latest in cancer treatments and technologies.

Together with its academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research, The Royal Marsden is one of Europe's leading cancer centres, with unrivalled cancer expertise and over 2,500 specialists who cover the rarest and most complex cases. Surgical teams at The Royal Marsden are innovators in their fi eld, and the hospital’s radiotherapy department is one of the largest in the UK, delivering more than 75,000 treatments every year.

The Royal Marsden Private Care o ers an award-winning service, having won the LaingBuisson Best Hospital Award in 2020 for the third time. Private patients are o ered additional benefi ts, including hotel-style service, single en-suite rooms and direct access to their treating consultant. A specialist International Advocate Service ensures that all the needs of overseas patients are met, both from a cultural perspective and in terms of treatment and care. They work closely with a multinational team of interpreters, including a dedicated Arabic Advocate Service, which can o er one-to-one translations.

Royal patronage

Her Majesty the Queen is the Patron of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and HRH the Duke of Cambridge has been President for 14 years, regularly visiting the hospital to meet with sta and patients. Last year, he showed his support for sta through video calls and letters to pay tribute to and thank the teams for all their hard work during the Covid-19 pandemic. He also attended a special event to mark the start of building work on The Royal Marsden’s Oak Cancer Centre, in Sutton, a state-of-the-art research and treatment facility being funded by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Leading-edge research changing standards of care

The Royal Marsden has an international research reputation, with experts revolutionising the way cancer treatment and care is provided, to help extend and improve the lives of patients in the UK and across the world. The Trust has continued to run its portfolio of 800 clinical trials open at any one time, despite the pressures of Covid-19. Experts regularly present at international conferences and are representatives on committees such as The European and American Societies of Clinical Oncology.

Professor James Larkin is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden and lead investigator of a number of translational studies into melanoma and kidney cancer. His research has been key in the field of immunotherapy and targeted therapies, heralding new hope for patients, with survival rates hitting an all-time high.

Professor Larkin says: “Immunotherapies like nivolumab and ipilimumab have completely changed our survival expectations for patients with difficultto-treat cancers. In the past, melanoma and kidney cancer were regarded as untreatable once they had spread. Thanks to pioneering research and clinical trials undertaken at cancer centres across the world, including The Royal Marsden, drugs have been developed that will help to control the disease in many people, and probably lead to cure in a proportion of patients.”

A ‘liquid biopsy’ test developed at The Royal Marsden and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, was found to detect the return of the disease nearly 11 months earlier than hospital scans. The research found the personalised blood test worked in all types of breast cancer and could detect the early spread of the disease.

The Royal Marsden researchers also launched multiple studies at speed during the pandemic to investigate and mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on cancer treatment and care. This includes exploring the use of new artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide clinicians with vital

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1 Farzana and team in the MDU at Cavendish Square | 2 Professor James Larkin, Consultant Medical Oncologist

(PHOTOS: THE ROYAL MARSDEN)

3 The Royal Marsden was the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of cancer | 4 Dr Richard Lee, Consultant Respiratory Physician | 5 Cavendish Square offers patients modern and comfortable surroundings | 6 Professor Chris Nutting, Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Clinical Director of The Royal Marsden Private Care at Cavendish Square

(PHOTOS: THE ROYAL MARSDEN) information that will help improve the lives of people with cancer.

A multidisciplinary team like no other

Personalised care is at the heart of The Royal Marsden’s approach, and its unique multidisciplinary team model ensures that cancer patients receive the highest standards of care. Up to 35 specialists including surgeons, medical oncologists, radiotherapists, pathologists, nurses, radiologists and allied health professionals attend weekly multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTs) to develop personalised treatment plans for each patient.

The importance of early diagnosis

The Royal Marsden is continually working to improve early diagnosis for patients to help save more lives – from carrying out pioneering genetic sequencing to identifying mutations that mean an individual has a higher risk of developing cancer, through to regular screenings of those with a genetic predisposition to certain cancers. Diagnosis at The Royal Marsden is carried out through the Rapid Diagnostic and Assessment Service, designed for patients with suspected breast, skin and urological cancers.

Dr Richard Lee, Consultant Respiratory Physician and Champion for Early Diagnosis at The Royal Marsden, is working with colleagues Professor Ros Eeles and Professor Stanley Kaye to create an Early Diagnosis and Detection Centre, which aims to accelerate early diagnosis and improve outcomes for patients. He is also Joint National Clinical Lead for the NHS England Targeted Lung Health Checks Programme, which aims to find and treat lung cancer at an earlier stage.

Dr Lee says: “Discovering cancers earlier is the key to treating patients successfully, avoiding invasive procedures and having fewer long-term side effects. Focusing on novel liquid biopsy technologies, AI and imaging, is helping us detect cancers faster and give a more accurate diagnosis. Advanced risk stratification science using genetics and ‘big data’ approaches is being used to identify high-risk groups who will benefit most from early diagnosis, ultimately helping us to save lives.”

The Royal Marsden Private Care’s new facility at Cavendish Square is part of the Trust’s broader strategy to diagnose cancer faster and earlier. Home to a state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging suite offering MRI, CT, X-Ray, ultrasound and mammography, experts are able to identify and diagnose cancers earlier across all the main tumour types.

Cavendish Square offers patients a onestop diagnostic service where patients can expect to have an appointment booked following their initial enquiry, direct access to diagnostic services, and same-day scans and test results. An onsite pathology department can conduct blood tests with rapid turnaround times to

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speed up diagnosis and support experts in delivering personalised treatment to patients at the earliest opportunity.

Professor Chris Nutting, Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Clinical Director of The Royal Marsden Private Care, Cavendish Square says: “The Royal Marsden sees and treats 60,000 NHS and private patients every year. Cavendish Square is an exciting new development that will allow our multidisciplinary teams to offer world-class standards of cancer care to even more patients, diagnosing cancers faster with a targeted and personalised approach.”

Cavendish Square – research-led cancer care in central London

Bringing The Royal Marsden’s personalised care to central London, Cavendish Square offers private patients outstanding facilities, world-class expertise and a rapid diagnostic service. Housed within an Edwardian listed building, this research-led, diagnostic, outpatient and treatment facility is part of The Royal Marsden’s Private Care service provision.

Patients have fast and direct access to world-leading diagnostic and research active consultants who will personally oversee every aspect of their treatment plan. Experts at Cavendish Square specialise in a full range of cancer services across all the main tumour groups, with other clinical specialties offered including genetics, plastic surgery and reconstruction and pain management. The centre is also home to a minor procedure suite and a medical day unit with bespoke treatment bays, which will provide the highest level of patientfocused care for UK and overseas patients who are receiving some of the most advanced cancer treatments.

Shams Maladwala, Managing Director of The Royal Marsden Private Care says: “Thanks to our integrated model, patients seeking the very best private cancer treatment can do so safe in the knowledge that it is backed by the strictest safety standards and governance usually only seen in the NHS. Further investment in the Trust’s NHS services from Private Care revenue provides the best of both worlds for both patients and clinicians, supporting The Royal Marsden in continuing to be worldwide leaders in the field of cancer diagnosis, treatment, care, research and education.”

Clare Kalis, 65, was one of the first patients to be seen at Cavendish Square. She has been under the care of Professor Chris Nutting and the Head and Neck team since 2015, after she found a lump in her neck. “Check-ups are always an anxious time, but walking into Cavendish Square was reassuring and calming – I immediately felt more at ease,” says Clare. “It is a beautiful facility in a great location, which doesn’t feel like a cancer centre at all. It is a pleasure to be under the care of Professor Nutting, as he is such a specialist in his field, and I feel very privileged to be one of his patients.”

“Walking into Cavendish Square was reassuring and calming – I immediately felt more at ease”

Clare Kalis, one of the first patients to be seen at Cavendish Square

Further information

For more information about The Royal Marsden Private Care or to refer a patient, please:

Visit: www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/ private-care

Email: int@rmh.nhs.uk

Call: +44 (0)20 7808 2063