The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust ranks among the world’s leading centres for cancer research, offering unrivalled expertise and standards of care
Rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), The Royal Marsden is ranked as one of the leading specialist cancer centres in the world. It operates from two centres – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as its treatment and diagnostic facility, The Royal Marsden Private Care at Cavendish Square, situated in the capital’s world renowned Harley Street Medical Area.
The Royal Marsden is a centre of excellence with an international reputation for ground-breaking research and pioneering the very latest in cancer treatments and technologies. Together with its academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, The Royal Marsden is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, with unrivalled cancer expertise and over 2,500 cancer specialists who cover the rarest and most complex cases. Surgical teams at The Royal Marsden are innovators in their field and the hospital’s radiotherapy department is one of the largest in the UK.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has been President of The Royal Marsden since 2007, seeing first-hand on many occasions the world-leading work that we deliver every day for patients and their families. In January we were delighted to announce that Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, having been through her own cancer journey and being treated at The Royal Marsden, is now joining him. Together, they will be Joint Patrons of the hospital.
Dame Cally Palmer, chief executive of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted that Her Royal Highness is now joining His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in becoming Joint Patrons of our specialist cancer centre. We are incredibly fortunate to receive Royal Patronage – it is inspiring for staff and patients and enables us to shine a light on the outstanding work our staff deliver every day for patients and their families.”
The Royal Marsden Private Care offers an award-winning service, having won the LaingBuisson Best Hospital Award multiple times, most recently in 2024. Private patients are offered a hotel-style service, including a healthy and nutritious food menu, single ensuite rooms and direct access to their treating consultant. A specialist International Advocate Service ensures that all the needs of overseas patients are met, both culturally and in terms of treatment and care. They work closely with a multinational team of interpreters, including a dedicated Arabic Advocate Service, which can offer one-to-one translations.
Personalised care is at the heart of The Royal Marsden’s approach, and its unique multidisciplinary model ensures that cancer patients receive the highest standards of care. Up to 35 specialists – including surgeons, medical oncologists, radiotherapists, pathologists, nurses and radiologists – attend weekly multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings to develop personalised treatment plans for each patient.
The Royal Marsden is continually working to improve early diagnosis for patients to help save more lives – from carrying out pioneering genetic sequencing to identifying mutations that mean an individual has a higher risk of developing cancer, through to regular screenings of those with a genetic predisposition to certain cancers. Our Cancer Genetics Unit offers services to patients of The Royal Marsden and their families who are concerned about a risk of inherited cancer.
The Royal Marsden also offers a state-of-the-art liquid biopsy testing facility for cancer clinical diagnostics and research, with Guardant Health – the first partnership of its kind in the UK. The Marsden360 liquid biopsy test provides comprehensive solid tumour profiling in advanced cancers, allowing clinicians to personalise treatments more accurately.
From a simple blood sample, liquid biopsies identify the genetic changes in DNA. This innovative technology ensures the cancers of many patients are detected, diagnosed and analysed faster. This service is available for private and clinical trial patients being treated at The Royal Marsden.
Bringing personalised care to central London, The Royal Marsden Private Care at Cavendish Square offers private patients outstanding facilities, world-class expertise and a rapid diagnostic service. Housed within an Edwardian listed building, this research-led, diagnostic, outpatient and treatment centre is part of The Royal Marsden Private Care’s service provision. One hundred per cent of patients recently rated their care as excellent or very good.
Patients have fast and direct access to world-leading diagnostic and research-active consultants, who will personally oversee every aspect of their treatment plan. Experts at Cavendish Square specialise in a full range of cancer services across all the main tumour groups, with other clinical specialties offered including genetics, plastic surgery and reconstruction, and pain management. The centre is also home to a minor procedure suite and a medical day unit with bespoke treatment bays, which provide the highest level of patient-focused care for UK and overseas patients who are receiving some of the most advanced cancer treatments.
“Cavendish Square’s modern environment sets a high standard for comfort, innovation and exceptional care,” says Professor Christopher Nutting, medical director of The Royal Marsden. “Private Care Patients from around the world have benefited from the centre’s facilities, safe in the knowledge that everything is underpinned by The Royal Marsden’s world-leading standards of cancer care.”
Earlier this year, The Royal Marsden Private Care opened a brand-new Medical Day Unit (MDU) at its Sutton hospital, bringing world-leading treatment and personalised care into a beautifully designed space that is tailored to patient comfort and privacy. Designed in collaboration with Royal Marsden clinical teams and shaped by patient feedback, the unit provides a wide range of advanced therapies, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies and complementary treatments – all delivered by a multidisciplinary team of cancer experts. The first-class care available at The Royal Marsden Private Care in Sutton matches the best care available in central London, but is easily accessible for patients in Surrey and the south-east.
The Trust has an international research reputation, with experts revolutionising the way in which cancer treatment and care is provided, to help extend and improve the lives of people with cancer in the UK and across the world. Experts regularly present at international conferences and are representatives on committees such as the European Society of Medical Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Professor Nicholas Turner, consultant medical oncologist and director of clinical research and development at The Royal Marsden specialises in the treatment of breast cancer. Research led by Professor Turner, showed that a powerful three-drug combination for aggressive advanced breast cancer – inavolisib plus palbociclib and fulvestrant – doubles the length of time before the cancer progresses, compared with a drug combination currently available.
“This is the first study to demonstrate the potential of a therapy combination, which targets the three key aspects of the biology of PIK3CA mutant HR-positive breast cancer,” says Professor Turner. “This new combination helps prevent the cancer becoming resistant to therapy, resulting in more frequent long-term responses and improving survival. We look forward to seeing this treatment option being licensed and becoming the standard of care as quickly as possible.”
Professor Susana Banerjee, consultant medical oncologist at The Royal Marsden, specialises in the treatment of ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancers. Recent results from the phase two RAMP 201 study, led by Professor Banerjee, showed that a combination of two targeted drugs used to block the growth of cancer cells has a significantly better response rate in patients with a rare form of ovarian cancer than the current conventional treatments.
“These significant results have led to FDA approval of avutometinib and defactinib in the United States,” explains Professor Banerjee. “This is the first approved treatment specifically for recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer – a rare, difficult-to-treat cancer. We're now looking to recruit patients globally to our phase three trial and hope results will continue to show better outcomes for patients.”
For more information about The Royal Marsden Private Care or to refer a patient, please:
Visit: www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/private
Email: int@rmh.nhs.uk
Call: +44 (0)20 7808 2063
