Centre is first in Wales to join new skin cancer trial

A SWANSEA hospital is the first in Wales to join a UK-wide clinical trial focusing on the treatment of a common type of skin cancer.

- JAMES ARNOTT

Experts at the South West Wales Cancer Institute at Singleton Hospital have already recruited the first three patients from Wales to take part in trial, called SCC-AFTER.

Skin SCC, Squamous Cell Cancer, is the UK’s second most common form of non-melanoma skin cancer. There are upwards of 50,000 new cases diagnosed every year and the number is growing.

Radiotherapy is routinely given to people with high-risk skin cancer after curative surgery to try to reduce the chances of the cancer coming back. This is known as adjuvant radiotherapy.

The alternative is close clinical monitoring to check if there are signs the cancer is returning, and to treat with radiotherapy only if it does.

The trial aims to find out which patients can safely avoid radiotherapy, sparing them side-effects and disruption when they will not necessarily benefit from it.

At the same time it will free up radiotherapy capacity for other patients, something that is already happening in the Swansea centre.