Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust says its patients had the highest adjusted one-year survival rate for non-Hodgkin lymphoma in England and Wales, according to national audit data.
The audit looked at how many patients were alive a year after diagnosis. The Nottingham result covers all types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma combined and takes account of differences between the patient groups treated at each hospital, including levels of deprivation.
NUH said it treated the fifth-highest number of patients with the disease in England and Wales. It was the only trust whose adjusted survival rate was more than three standard deviations above the national median.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which forms part of the body’s immune system. Around 14,200 people are diagnosed in the UK each year.
One Nottingham patient, Andre Korol, was referred urgently to Queen’s Medical Centre by his GP in February 2023. Tests revealed lesions on his liver and bowel. After a biopsy, he was referred to the trust’s haematology team.
Andre recalled meeting Professor Chris Fox, a consultant haematologist at NUH.
“He took my hand and said there were a lot of lesions on my liver but told me not to worry because I could be cured. I just broke down and cried.”
Andre had intensive chemotherapy and was among the first patients at NUH to receive a treatment approved for NHS use in 2023. In October that year, he was told there was no evidence of cancer.
“What got me the most was when I went to ring that bell and all the nurses and the amazing team waited and didn’t clock off shift until they had seen me ring that bell.”
