Papillon celebrates 25 years with special event at the Liverpool Medical Institute
Posted 26th March 2018
From left to right: Acting Deputy Chief Executive Barney Schofield, Professor Jean Pierre Gerard, Professor Arthur Sun Myint
It is 25 years since the Papillon Suite at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre treated its first patient. In celebration of Papillon’s quarter of a century milestone, a special event was held in the Lecture Hall at the Liverpool Medical Institute on Friday 23rd March.
The all-day event was attended by a number of leading experts including Professor Jean Pierre Gerard who devised the life changing technique, and Professor Arthur Sun Myint, whom introduced the technique to Clatterbridge, and the United Kingdom after going to France to meet Professor Gerard.
Professor Myint said: “Initially there was a lot of resistance and skepticism, saying that this isn’t the right treatment, they should have surgery, the patient will benefit that way.
“When they saw the results of our treatment, they were as amazed as I was when I went to Lyon, and the number of referrals gradually rose, we were able to get the new dedicated machine which we still use, we have also purchased a brand new 2nd generation machine which is better and much more comfortable for the patient so I am very pleased that this event is occurring in Liverpool and we are very proud to be a part of that.”
Also in attendance was Acting Deputy Chief Executive Barney Schofield, who commented on the Clatterbridge connection with Papillon:
“I’m honoured to be asked to speak at this event when we have such a distinguished international field of visitors and it’s my pleasure to represent The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre at this event.
“I think 25 years of Papillon treatment is a fabulous milestone for the organization to have achieved and it’s an achievement that the organization is very proud of Professor Myint and the team who have made this happen.
“I’m sure there are many patients alive and well today that wouldn’t be otherwise without the clinical innovation from Professor Myint has championed in Liverpool.”
From treating patients just one day a week, Papillon now provides a five day a week service to people with rectal cancer, offering an alternative to surgery and the fitting of a colostomy bag.
Mark Davies was treated with Papillon in 2003 and spoke about the patient experience.
Mark Davies underwent Papillon treatment in 2003 at the age of just 31 and choice the innovative treatment based at The Clatetrbridge Cancer Centre under the supervision of Prof. Myint as an alternative to surgery.
Davies was invited to the event at the Liverpool Medical Institute to talk about his own experiences but also to shine a light on the patient journey.
Davies said: “At any age you don’t want to hear that (cancer diagnosis), so I went to a specialist and he said ’unfortunately you will need surgery which will result in a stoma being fitted.’
“I didn’t want a stoma and felt confident at fighting the cancer, I thought, there’s got to be a better way - if it’s so close to the end of the colon why can’t be go in and treat it that way? That’s what Papillon does. That’s where Professor Myint came in.
“He literally saved my backside and to be invited to talk about my journey but particularly patients generally struggles we have. Talk about my journey but it’s going to be interjected with the stories that I’ve heard from the 100s of patients I’ve talked to over the last few years that have said ‘I had no hope and Sunny gave me hope.’ And that’s really what I’m celebrating, a little bit of hope goes a long way.”
Papillon delivers low beam radiotherapy directly to the cancer. It is only suitable for tumours that are 3cm or less in size.
Elderly patients who are not deemed fit for major surgery are most likely to undergo Papillon treatment following external radiotherapy and chemotherapy to shrink the tumour. However with earlier detection now more common due to home testing kits, and the growing trend of patient choice, the age rate is falling.
Papillon was formally approved by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2015 and the OPERA Trial is currently under way, comparing the technique with external radiotherapy in patients from the UK, France, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland.
Prof Myint believes these two developments in addition to the national bowel cancer screening programme, and the ageing population, will see more patients being referred for Papillon as early diagnosis increases.
There are now three other centres in the UK offering Papillon treatment and 15 in total around the world. The centre at Clatterbridge is also responsible for training clinicians from other centres in the technique.
The UK Papillon team, led by Prof Myint, was recently shortlisted for the prestigious 2018 BMJ Awards.
