COC launches first clinic on London's Harley Street for specialised cancer treatment

Care Oncology Clinic (COC), an independent, private organisation providing oncology treatments, announces today the launch of its first clinic on London's Harley Street. Delivered by leading oncologists and palliative care doctors, the clinic is the first of its kind, specifically set up to offer a specialised cancer treatment by targeting the energy requirements of cancer cells using existing medicines that are already licensed for this purpose, have an acceptable safety profile and are low cost. Designed for patients for whom the standard oncology treatment regime is not available, viable, tolerable or providing benefit, this is a new option for treating these cancer patients.  

Recent research has established that cancer cells function in a completely different way to normal healthy cells. Cancer cells are much more reliant on glucose and fats in the blood (cholesterol) for their energy and for the creation of new cells. A large amount of scientific data has shown that if glucose or cholesterol is reduced, the cancer growth is slowed or halted. Existing and approved medicines used for diabetes and heart patients are capable of reducing glucose and cholesterol while having an acceptable safety profile.

Prof Justin Stebbing, Professor of Cancer Medicine and Oncology, Consultant Oncologist, Imperial College and Consultant at COC, said:

"Care Oncology Clinic is following an approach in treating cancer which uses existing medicines to reduce the availability of resources that cancer cells require for their energy and growth needs. This approach is supported by a large body of scientific data. We believe it is important to collect robust real world data on these approaches and share this with the wider community."

Christina Doherty, CEO of Care Oncology Clinic, added:

"Cancer prevalence rates have been increasing alarmingly and are predicted to rise by 3% a year. Cancer is responsible for more than one in four deaths in the UK, recording over 150,000 deaths in 2011. A number of cancer patients are unable to tolerate existing treatments, and are left with limited, or in some cases, no options. This is the first clinic in the world to offer this treatment in a simple, organised and easily accessible manner. Our objective is to provide affordable treatment to help patients have an acceptable quality of life while dealing with the disease."