The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money solely to support The Royal Marsden, a world-leading cancer centre. We ensure our nurses, doctors and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments, which are used across the UK and around the world. From funding state-of-the-art equipment and ground-breaking research, to creating the very best patient environments, we will never stop looking for ways to improve the lives of cancer patients.
Key Statistics
- Consistently ranked within the top 10 cancer centres in the world
- 700 clinical trials underway with 28,000 cancer patients across the UK currently taking part
- 57,000 cancer patients seen and treated every year
Impact of Syncona’s support
Thanks to generous funding from Syncona, we have been able to support vital projects to improve survival and quality of life for cancer patients. These projects aim to influence cancer treatment and care across the NHS and worldwide.
- Life-saving research: Syncona has helped to fund vital research at The Royal Marsden including trials of innovative new treatments such as CAR-T therapy. These new therapies offer cancer patients hope when all other treatment options have been exhausted, as highlighted in Thomas’s story below.
- State-of-the-art equipment: Funding from Syncona has helped to purchase specialist equipment like the da Vinci Xi surgical robot. Using the robot, our surgeons have developed new minimally-invasive procedures, helping patients to recover more quickly after surgery and reducing long term side effects.
- World-leading treatment and care: Syncona has supported a number of new initiatives to support patients, including the Triggers pilot study. Triggers is an innovative service that introduces palliative care earlier in a patient’s treatment journey. Triggers has proven that palliative care can improve patient's quality of life, and in some cases their prognosis, at any stage of their treatment.
Case Study: Pioneering Immunotherapy Research
Thomas Romain was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma aged 26. He was referred to The Royal Marsden and selected to take part in ZUMA-7, a new CAR-T trial. CAR-T cell therapy uses the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. It involves collecting the patient’s T cells and genetically modifying them to enhance their ability to target and kill cancer cells, and then reinfusing them into the patient.
“When I found out I was eligible and that the trial could give me a chance to go into remission it felt like I had won the lottery. I couldn’t believe something like this was possible.
Months after starting the trial I received the incredible news that the treatment had worked. It had put me in remission. It is hard to put into words what that’s like to hear. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted.
Going through this has given me a new sense of what’s important in life. I want to live life to the full, to see the world with my family, embrace the small things and eat plenty of ice cream with my daughter Olivia.”