£4m nuclear centre at Sheffield's Weston Park Cancer Centre set to help patients

He explained: “Molecular radiotherapy is where we give a radioactive substance where the patient either swallows it or is injected. It is a highly targeted radiotherapy so it takes advantage of in some way or other specifically targeting the tumour cells – it’s like a magic bullet if you like.

“Historically the main area we have used for this sort of treatment is thyroid cancer, which exploits the fact that thyroid cells are pretty much the only cells in the body which take up iodine. So we give radioactive iodine that targets thyroid cancer cells specifically and that’s a treatment we have been using for the past 80 years.

“What is exciting is that more recently there have been a whole new range of treatments in development looking at other ways of targeting radiation in a similar way to tumour cells. One of the big things we have been doing in Sheffield – we’re a centre of excellence for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours – and there’s been a number of treatments in that field so we treat patients with a couple of different treatments across Yorkshire.

“It has been really important for this groups of patients that we have the expertise because those cancers are pretty rare. This is now moving into more mainstream common cancers so we’re seeing treatments in prostate cancer and we’re about to start a trial with breast cancer, so that just transforms the number of patients we can treat.

“And that’s why we have had to open the new suite to create the capacity to keep up with doing these new things.”

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The purpose-built unit, which was officially opened by South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, will be staffed by nuclear medicine technologists, clinical scientists, oncologists and radiologists.

Professor Wadsley said: “At the moment we treat a relatively small number of patients but we’re expecting that to expand. We have gone from a position of being able to treat one out patient a day to three out patients a day. That has a number of benefits – it improves the experience of our existing patients, they won’t have to wait as long, but it will also increase our capacity to support others.

“We take referrals from quite a wide area – from Leeds to Hull – so we are able to do that more. It also increases our capacity for new treatments in other cancers and our capacity to take part in research and clinical trials, so patients in our region get to access treatments at an earlier stage than they would otherwise.

“If we take advantage of the trials then usually that means the treatments which are ultimately proven to be beneficial we can implement them more quickly. What is new is there are a raft of new types of treatments coming through. It is a massive growth area internationally.

“For thyroid cancer this is a really effective treatment. In other cancers at the moment this is largely being used in advanced stage patients who are really beyond cure. Some of the trials we’re looking at is bringing it forward to earlier stages and try and improve the chance of cure."

The opening event was supported by Weston Park Cancer Charity, following their investment in refurbishing the brachytherapy and molecular radiotherapy inpatient suite two years ago.

Professor Wadsley said the expertise of the clinical staff is key to reassuring patients: “When we talk about nuclear medicine and radioactive things that can create a bit of anxiety within the public. This is all done under very strict and careful regulations. We have a great team of nuclear medicine technologists who are brilliant at looking after our patients and making sure everything is done safely.

“We find the patients coming through actually cope with this very well and by the time they come through to the treatment they have been really well counselled and understand what is going on. We find that is very important to explain what is going on.”