A new cancer centre in Reading is set to reopen, creating treatment capacity for a Thames Valley population of 1.6 million.
Icon Group has announced plans to operate the purpose-built facility at Thames Valley Science Park in Shinfield. The multi-million-pound investment will bring the former Rutherford Health centre back into use.
Icon said the centre will support NHS systems and reduce travel for private patients, strengthening radiotherapy and oncology services across the region. It will be known as Icon Cancer Centre Thames Valley and is expected to treat more than 500 patients each year.
Services will include radiotherapy, systemic anti-cancer therapy, imaging and consulting services. Systemic anti-cancer therapy includes chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
The centre will serve people across the Thames Valley, where the general population catchment is about 1.6 million. Nationally, one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer, while about half of all cancer patients are expected to need radiotherapy during their treatment.
Mark Middleton, Group CEO, Icon Group, said: “The number of people being diagnosed with cancer continues to rise and there is a clear need to deliver the best cancer care possible, closer to home.”
He said the centre would create an opportunity to restore cancer infrastructure in the area.
Mark Middleton, Group CEO, Icon Group, said: “Healthcare infrastructure is a valuable community asset, and our focus is on ensuring that important cancer care facilities continue to serve the people who rely on them.”
Up to 30 staff will work at the centre across radiotherapy, radiography, medical physics, oncology nursing, pharmacy and administration. Icon said the team would include members of its global workforce and create job opportunities in the region.
Technology at the site will include artificial intelligence-enabled workflows to help clinicians plan and deliver radiotherapy. Icon said this could support faster planning, improved accuracy and fewer treatment sessions where clinically suitable.
Dr Penny Kechagioglou, Chief Medical Officer, Icon UK, said: “Every patient is different, so our emphasis is on delivering care that is carefully coordinated, clinically led and centred on the individual.”
She said radiotherapy was an important part of cancer care but was not used enough in the UK.
Dr Penny Kechagioglou, Chief Medical Officer, Icon UK, said: “Radiotherapy is a vital part of cancer treatment but underutilised in the UK. Bringing these assets back online creates more access for cancer patients needing life-saving therapy.”
Icon also plans to reopen former Rutherford Health centres in South Wales and Northumberland. The move follows its acquisition of Cancer Centre London, which now operates as Icon Cancer Centre London.
The group is progressing plans for new centres in Brighton, Derbyshire and Warwickshire. It has also proposed a centre in Leeds as part of a wider health initiative at AMT Headingley Stadium.
Icon said the Reading centre would provide coordinated care through specialists working together. Its services are intended to bring treatment closer to home for patients and support local health services.
CBRE advised on the agreement.
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