Download a copy of the press release from Cancer Recovery

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday 19 May 2015
UK cancer recovery charity supports study comparing
radiotherapy with proton therapy for children
“This study is an important step to improving paediatric cancer treatment and
survival” says Dr Henry Mandeville, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal
Marsden.
An Anglo-American research study that aims to measure and report on the quality of life
of children with cancer following different forms of radiotherapy, has received £65,000
for its work at The Royal Marsden in London, UK, and the Massachusetts General
Hospital in Boston, USA.
The funding, from the Cancer Recovery Foundation UK and its US-based sister charity,
the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation, will support the two hospitals’ research into
ground-breaking proton radiotherapy.
Recent research, including a 2012 report published by the American Society of Clinical
Oncology, has shown that cancer survival rates for children have increased to around
80 per cent. However, treatment often leaves the survivor with chronic and debilitating
medical conditions that impair their quality of life and can even lead to premature death.
Proton radiotherapy is a relatively new treatment that enables clinicians to target the
cancer treatment more precisely, so that it delivers a smaller, but more concentrated,
dose to the tumour. Unlike traditional radiation, it does not exit into the area around the
tumour and this containment potentially reduces the risk to the patient.
The study will enable researchers at The Royal Marsden, in collaboration with their
academic research partner The Institute of Cancer Research, London, to gather
information on patients’ quality of life by asking them to fill out a questionnaire about
their photon radiotherapy treatment at The Royal Marsden.
The funding will allow a Clinical Nurse Specialist to help deliver the questionnaire and
collate the data for one day a week, which will ultimately be compared to questionnaires
on patients’ experiences of undergoing proton therapy in the US.
Patrick Tonks, CEO of the UK charity, says: “Radiation therapy provides essential
treatment for children with tumours, but often has serious, long-lasting side effects,
including an adverse impact on the normal healthy tissue surrounding the tumour. That
is why we are so pleased to be able to support this study by The Royal Marsden and its
research partner in the US.
“This Anglo-American research study is the first to compare the use of proton
radiotherapy and traditional radiotherapy for the treatment of the paediatric brain tumour
medulloblastoma,” he adds, “and we eagerly await the findings of their research into this
ground-breaking technology. We hope that this will be the start of a long and fruitful
relationship with The Royal Marsden and that their cancer patients will also be able to
benefit from the wide-ranging support that the Cancer Recovery Foundation UK can
provide.”
Dr Henry Mandeville, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden, and lead
investigator for the study in the UK, adds: “This study is an important step to improving
paediatric cancer treatment and survival. It will both inform the debate on proton
radiotherapy and clarify its role in the management of paediatric cancers.
“In this era of escalating healthcare costs and budgetary constraints, it is essential that
the value of new medical technologies be measured and proven by comparing the
health outcomes between old and new technologies.”
-endsFor more information please contact:
Helen Pearson Communications & Marketing Executive, Cancer Recovery Foundation
UK 0207 470 8755, [email protected] or Vicky Hartley, PR and
Communications Manager, The Royal Marsden, 020 7808 2107,
[email protected]
Notes to editors:
About the Cancer Recovery Foundation UK
Cancer Recovery Foundation UK aims to help people prevent and survive cancer. It is
dedicated to helping cancer patients and their families through a variety of support
services offering financial security, hope and practical advice. These services include
the provision of Survivor Packs, developed after interviews with more than 16,000
cancer survivors about what they need and what really helped them. The packs provide
information on nutrition, exercise, physical rehabilitation and mental health. The
charity’s Children’s Cancer Recovery Project focuses on simple acts of care and
kindness to children and their families experiencing cancer. It includes the Bear-able gift
bag programme, the only regular, national donation of gifts to children in
hospital/hospice care in the UK. Gifts are specially selected to make extended hospital
stays more “Bear-able” to distract and reward children during treatment and create
happier childhood memories. Other services provided by the charity include the Cancer
Recovery Foundation Fund, which offers assistance to people who are struggling
financially as the result of a cancer diagnosis and its International Aid programme,
working in partnership with hospitals in developing countries; sharing ideas about
integrative care with the medical staff and supplying otherwise unavailable medicines
directly to the hospitals. For more information please visit www.cancerrecovery.org.uk
About the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation in the USA
Headquartered in Harrisburg, PA with a division in The Woodlands, TX, the Children’s
Cancer Recovery Foundation supports children under 18 and their families facing the
hardships of cancer. The foundation performs acts of care and kindness through the
following programs: Bear-Able Gifts (largest distributor of gifts to children with cancer
in the U.S.); Toxic-Free Kids (educates families on the dangers of environmental
toxins); New Era Cancer Research Fund (funds research for less toxic, minimallyinvasive paediatric-cancer treatments); International Aid (provides medications and
supplies to clinics in developing and impoverished countries); Helping Hands Fund
(provides emergency financial assistance to families); and Camp Scholarships (allows
children in remission to reconnect with activities they love). With a national paediatrichospital partner network of 215+ locations, the foundation directly helps more than
15,000 children affected by cancer and their families every year. Please visit
www.childrenscancerrecovery.org
Photographs available on request.