Private Care Magazine, Issue 4 - The Royal Marsden

Gynaecology focusGynaecologicalcancer facts21women a dayare diagnosedwith uterinecancer in the UK,making this themost commongynaecologicalcancer8in10womendiagnosed withovarian cancerare over the ageof 50 and havebeen throughthe menopauseDr Susana Banerjeein conversationwith a patientother specialties to providecomprehensive cancer care.“The gynaecological team hasa strong research profile,” saysDr Lalondrelle. “In radiotherapy,we offer technical expertise thatis not widely available. We havea large radiotherapy departmentat both Sutton and Chelsea,offering CyberKnife, intensitymodulatedradiotherapy (IMRT),arc therapy, brachytherapy andimage-guided treatments.”As well as treating patientsday-to-day, Dr Lalondrelleand her team are conductingimportant research that willimprove the delivery of cancertreatment. As part of this excitingwork, she is using CyberKnifeto treat recurring cancers thatmay have previously receivedradiotherapy – something thatis not normally possible.“We are always striving tofurther personalise cancertreatment to increase the chancesof cure,” says Dr Lalondrelle. “Inradiotherapy, we are looking atmethods that integrate PET andother imaging into treatment toguide the need for a larger orsmaller radiotherapy dose.“Some cancers are moreaggressive than others, and wecurrently treat them all the same.If we could predict how a cancerwould respond to treatment, wecould individualise the treatmentto give just the right dosage,which could lead to moresuccessful treatments for someand fewer side effects for others.”Dr Alexandra TaylorDr Taylor, Consultant ClinicalOncologist, specialises in thetreatment of gynaecologicalcancers with radiotherapy,brachytherapy andchemotherapy. She has aparticular interest in advancedradiotherapy technologies,including IMRT, image-guidedbrachytherapy and CyberKnife.“This is a unique environmentwhere clinical excellence isexpected and innovation stronglysupported,” says Dr Taylor.“With this infrastructure, it ispossible to rapidly implementnew developments and todevelop clinical research.”Dr Taylor is undertakingresearch into novel applicationsfor these advanced techniquesin gynaecological cancer.This includes a dose escalationstudy with IMRT for cervicalcancer, which allows us toreduce the dose to normaltissues – thereby reducingthe risk of side effects – butdeliver more radiotherapy toselected areas within the pelvis.This allows for a higher dosethan is safe with conventionalradiotherapy, and shouldimprove cure rates.“The Royal Marsden has astrong history of radiotherapyresearch with an internationallyacclaimed radiotherapy physicsteam,” says Dr Taylor. “This hasled to multiple clinical studiesassessing new techniques suchas IMRT and stereotacticradiotherapy with CyberKnife.”Helen Taylor,CyberKnife LeadRadiographer, andDr Alexandra Taylor“IN RADIOTHERAPY,WE OFFER TECHNICALEXPERTISE THAT IS NOTWIDELY AVAILABLE”DR SUSAN LALONDRELLE,CONSULTANT CLINICAL ONCOLOGIST6 The Royal Marsden Private Care