NHS cancer treatment backlog ‘can be tackled by making most of’ proton beam therapy

Experts say a high-tech treatment could be key to addressing the NHS backlog of cancer patients fuelled by the Covid pandemic.

Proton beam therapy, which became available in the UK three years ago, can now be used to treat 2,000 patients in Britain at any one time.

NHS figures show 45,000 fewer cancer patients than would be expected have commenced treatment in England since the start of the pandemic, with charities warning that survival rates could drop for the first time in generations.

Professor Karol Sikora, chief medical officer at private cancer treatment provider Rutherford Health, has said “The demand for proton beam therapy is rising all the time in the UK and globally.

“It will be very significant in addressing the cancer backlog which has reached staggering levels.”

Professor Sikora added that although the technique was not a panacea for all cancers, he went on to say “there is a growing evidence that when it is given to patients, the reduction of side effects means there is generally less need for continued intensive treatment.

“This could help alleviate future pressure on healthcare services as we try to clear this mammoth backlog.

“The number of oncologists being trained in proton beam therapy is increasing and the UK has come a long way in just three years when there were no facilities here. Now the country can treat 2,000 in total at any one time.”

Professor Sikora estimated the therapy could help around ten per cent of cancer patients needing radiotherapy, around 9,000 every year.

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