News & Media
UCLH Twitter Feed (includes PBT news stories)
01/03/16
Marie Curie Early Career Researcher in Calorimetry for Proton Therapy.
The UCL HEP group is inviting applications for a
Marie Curie Early Career Researcher in Proton Therapy.
More information is available on our
Proton Therapy Marie Curie ECR page.
Closing date: 28/3/16.
30/01/16
Proton beam cancer therapy ‘effective with fewer side effects’
“A cancer treatment at the centre of an NHS controversy in 2014
causes fewer side effects in children than conventional radiotherapy,
according to new research.
The study,
published in The Lancet Oncology,
suggests proton beam therapy is as effective as other treatments.”
09/12/15
Proton beam centres ‘to treat 1,500 patients a year’
“Two new NHS proton beam therapy facilities could offer treatment to
1,500 cancer patients a year when they open in the next few years.
...
“On Wednesday, a ceremony at University College London Hospital (UCLH) —
attended by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt —
marked the start of construction at one of the sites, due to open in 2019.
The other, at the Christie cancer centre in Manchester, will start taking patients in 2018.”
09/12/15
England's first proton beam cancer therapy centre is developed in London
“The new centre, near Euston in central London, will offer the treatment
as well as housing Europe's largest blood disorder treatment unit.
...
“BBC London's correspondent Katharine Carpenter speaks to the family of a
four-year-old girl who had to travel to America for treatment.”
09/12/15
Work begins on new centre to revolutionise cancer care
“A young cancer patient was the guest of honour at an event to mark the start of work on
25,000 square metres of state of the art cancer and surgical care facilities at UCLH.
“Keeva Hanbury, 4, was joined by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and actor and
blood cancer campaigner Julian Rhind-Tutt as they officially
‘broke the ground’ at the site of UCLH’s new integrated
proton beam therapy (PBT) and specialist cancer and surgical treatment facility.”
11/11/15
World experts share knowledge at first UCLH PBT symposium
29/10/15
“... Improving ion beam therapy for enhanced cancer treatment is the goal of a new
European research and training network that will focus on the
Optimisation of Medical Accelerators (OMA).
The OMA project joins 24 institutions from all across Europe and will be coordinated by the
Cockcroft Institute in the UK during its 4 year duration.
The consortium has been awarded almost
27/09/15
Interview: With Proton Precision
Simon Jolly talks to David Smith about his early physics career and his current involvement in proton therapy in the UK.
16/09/15
Bouygues starts £190m London cancer hospital
“Bouygues UK has started work on the construction of a new hospital dedicated to specialist cancer treatment in central London.
University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust signed the £190m contract with Bouygues UK in July. ...”
25/08/15
Could proton beam therapy help cure the UK's toughest cancers?
“... The UK currently has a low-energy NHS proton beam facility at Clatterbridge cancer centre, in the Wirral, suitable for treating
rare cancers of the eye, but complex cases need high energy proton beam therapy. ...”
29/07/15
The Christie: Proton beam therapy cancer centre construction starts
16/03/15
Construction Enquirer: Bouygues and Interserve win £250m cancer hospital jobs
12/03/15
Society of Radiographers: Green light given for proton beam therapy centres
12/03/15
PR Newswire: Varian Medical Systems Selected to Equip Two National Proton Therapy Centers in England
“... Under a public tender, Varian was selected as the preferred supplier to provide equipment and service to operate two three-room
centers to be constructed in London and Manchester in a contract valued at up to £80 million. ...”
11/03/15
UK Gov: Green light for 2 proton beam therapy centres
“The building of 2 proton beam therapy cancer treatment centres at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the
Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester will start this summer. Varian Medical Systems has been named as the equipment supplier for both,
with Bouygues UK as the building contractor for UCLH and Interserve Construction Ltd at the Christie.
“The government has invested £250 million in the facilities to give NHS patients a highly-targeted type of radiotherapy that can treat
hard-to-reach cancers without causing damage to surrounding tissue or other side effects. The centres are expected to open for patients in
2018.”
11/03/15
UCLH: Green light for proton beam therapy centre.
“The Department of Health has announced the preferred contractors for the building and supply of equipment for the proton beam therapy
(PBT) service which will treat hundreds of patients each year at University College Hospital from 2018.
“UCLH’s preferred building contractor is Bouyges UK and the preferred equipment supplier for both the Christie and UCLH is Varian.
Both were selected following a rigorous public procurement process.”
11/03/15
UCLH a step closer to UK's most advanced cancer treatment.
“ ...The Rosenheim Wing on Grafton Way, together with the adjacent vacant site, known as the Odeon site, will make way for a new patient
facility which, subject to final approval, will include a PBT centre.
“David Probert, UCLH’s strategic development director, is overseeing the development programme with Kieran McDaid, UCLH’s director of
estates leading on the construction project. David said, “The Rosenheim Wing is being taken down ‘brick by brick’ to minimise the disruption
to the people and buildings in the area." ...
“It’s the end of an era for the Rosenheim Wing which was home to several clinical services until earlier this year when it closed to
make way for the new facility.
“The building was named after Max Rosenheim. Max was originally appointed as a research assistant in the obstetric unit at University
College Hospital in 1934 and rose through the ranks to become deputy director of the metabolic unit. He was knighted in 1967 and the building was
renamed the Rosenheim Wing after his death in the early 1970s. The Rosenheim Wing is also remembered as the place where George Orwell died in
1950.
“The adjacent site has been vacant since the Odeon cinema was demolished in 1960.”
11/03/15
YouTube: UK National Proton Beam Therapy Programme
10/09/14
Reuters: Cancer-zapping proton therapy only suitable for rare patients.
“ ... Simon Jolly, a lecturer in accelerator physics at University College London (UCL),
said these key features of the proton beam make it highly suited to some hard-to-reach tumors,
or tumors growing very close to other key organs that could be badly affected by radiation,
such as the brain stem or spinal cord.
‘What you're trying to do is deliver dose to the cells that you
want to kill... and do it in a targeted way,’ Jolly told
reporters
at a briefing for reporters given by experts on proton therapy.
‘The key advantage with the proton is that it goes in and then stops.
And it dumps must of its energy, doing most of its damage, at the end of its path.
So not only are you doing less damage on the way in, but it also means that if there are
sensitive areas on the far side of the tumor, you will not damage them.’ ... ”
16/09/13
Cancer Research UK: Proton therapy is coming to the UK, but what does it mean for patients?
“Before we get too excited about this new treatment, it’s important to point out that it’s thought that only around one per cent of UK cancer
patients could be suitable for proton therapy. There’s also a lack of hard conventional evidence to prove that it’s more effective and kinder
than conventional radiotherapy.
“So it seems like a good time to look in more depth at what the treatment involves, the current situation for UK cancer patients who are
suitable for proton therapy, the plans to bring it to our own shores, and the issues, controversies and questions that still remain.”
04/08/13
UCL Physics News: Funding approved for state-of-the-art UCLH Proton Therapy Cancer Facility.
“ ... ‘High energy physics isn’t just for exploring the sub-atomic universe,’ says Dr Simon Jolly,
an accelerator physicist within the department working on both facilities.
‘The accelerator technology used in proton beam therapy comes directly from high energy physics,
developed for particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider to investigate nature's fundamental building blocks.
Without that pure research we wouldn’t have these tools for cancer treatment.’ ... ”
02/08/13
UCL News: Government commits to Proton Beam Therapy at UCLH.
01/08/13
The Christie: Launch of the Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) equipment procurement Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire (PQQ).
UCLH (University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust are launching a procurement exercise for
PBT equipment and services as part of the development of a national Proton Beam Therapy Service.
More information is available here:
http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:257121-2013:TEXT:EN:HTML
01/08/13
Society of Radiographers: Proton beam therapy is coming to the UK.
01/08/13
Health Services Journal: Proton cancer therapy coming to UK.
01/08/13
Cancer Research UK: Manchester and London proton beam therapy units confirmed.
01/08/13
Evening Standard: £125m cancer unit will end US trek for London families.
01/08/13
Huffington Post: Special Cancer Therapy, Previously Only Available Abroad, Comes To The UK.
01/08/13
ITV News: Funding secured for new cancer unit.
01/08/13
Nursing Times: Proton beam cancer therapy coming to UK.
31/07/13
Bloomberg: Proton-Beam Cancer Sites Get $380 Million From U.K. Government.
31/07/13
Reuters: UK plays catch-up with $380 mln spend on cancer-zapping beams.