CQC examining service which ‘gave 14 people unnecessary cancer treatment’

Fourteen patients have raised concerns they may have received unnecessary chemotherapy with “debilitating side effects” at the same hospital, some for a decade or more, HSJ has been told.

The Care Quality Commission confirmed it was discussing concerns that University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire treated patients with temozolomide for far longer than deemed safe, and unnecessarily.

One man was treated with temozolomide for a brain tumour for more than 14 years, the BBC reported, despite NHS guidelines recommending treatment programmes of between six and 12 months.

The law firm Brabners, which is now representing five patients concerned they are in a similar situation, told HSJ it had spoken to others who had received the treatment for more than a decade. It had heard from 14 people as of yesterday, it said.

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Source: HSJ, 28 January 2025