Papillon team shortlisted for prestigious BMJ award

Posted 2nd March 2018

The Papillon team at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has been shortlisted for the prestigious British Medical Journal Awards 2018.

The entry, Papillon for Rectal Cancer, is one of six being considered for final judging in the Cancer Care Team category.

The BMJ Awards will be presented in London on 10th May. The shortlisted teams will gather for a morning’s judging followed by Excellence in Healthcare, an afternoon programme with speakers including Prof Sir Bruce Keogh, former medical director of NHS England.

The day will conclude with an awards evening at the Park Plaza Westminster Hotel.

Professor Arthur Sun Myint, Lead Papillon Clinician at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (pictured above with the team), said: “The whole team are honoured to be shortlisted for this very highly regarded award.

“Patient care is at the centre of everything we do. For 25 years we have been offering an alternative to surgery and a stoma for our patients.

“As demand grows for Papillon treatment, we are also helping to educate and train clinicians to provide a wider service in the UK and beyond.”

Papillon is recommended for patients who are not fit enough for general anaesthesia or those who want to avoid major surgery. It is low energy contact radiotherapy delivered to the tumour via a treatment tube.

Another benefit is that it avoids the need for patients to have surgery which can result in them requiring a temporary or permanent stoma (colostomy bag).

Now in their 10th year, The BMJ Awards are the UK’s leading medical awards. They promote excellence in healthcare and recognise the inspirational work of healthcare teams across the country.

The submission from the Papillon team laid out the aim of the service, to reduce surgical mortality and stoma rates in elderly patients with rectal cancer by proposing a change from surgery to minimally invasive, non-surgical treatment using low energy X-rays known as Papillon X-ray brachytherapy.

It also highlighted achievements including recommendation in 2015 by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and a survey, carried out by NICE, that showed a high level of patient satisfaction, including the avoidance of stoma and quality of life.

The future of Papillon treatment was also laid out, with detail of the four centres now open in the UK to meet the increasing demand for the treatment as a result of early diagnosis due to the National Bowel Cancer Screening and the ageing population who are not suitable for surgery, not just in the UK but throughout the world.

The Papillon Suite at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre celebrates its silver anniversary this year.

In the 25 years since it was established at the Wirral hospital, staff have treated 1450 patients with rectal cancer.

Prof Sun Myint introduced the technique to Clatterbridge, and the United Kingdom, in 1993 after going to France to meet Professor Jean Papillon who devised the life changing technique.

There are only four hospitals in the UK offering this innovative service and 15 around the world.