First Patient Treatments Delivered at New Centre of Excellence – St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London

St Bartholomew’s Hospital has successfully delivered its first Papillon Contact X-ray Brachytherapy (CXB) patient treatments, marking a significant milestone in expanding access to this specialist therapy in the UK.

The first patients were treated onsite on 16th January 2026, enabling individuals with lower rectal cancer to access treatment within London for the first time, removing the need to travel to centres such as Liverpool or Hull.

The treatments were supported by Arthur Sun Myint from the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, who worked alongside Pablo Neclares and the St Bartholomew’s clinical team to deliver the procedures.

While Papillon CXB has been available in the UK for nearly 30 years, with four established sites across England since 2014 and over 5,000 patients treated, St Bartholomew’s Hospital is the first centre in London to offer this technology, and the first new UK site to be introduced since 2014.

Following recent guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommending Papillon CXB as a non-surgical treatment option for selected patients, interest in the technology has increased significantly both across the UK and internationally.

This milestone represents an important step forward in improving patient access to organ-preserving, non-invasive treatment options within the capital.