About Professor Nutting
Curriculum Vitae
Professor Christopher Nutting
BSc MBBS FRCP FRCR HonFRCSLT MD PhD FIPEM FRSB FInstP FBIR FMedSci
Consultant and Professor in Clinical Oncology
The Royal Marsden Hospital and The Institute of Cancer Research
Précis
Professor Christopher Nutting qualified from Portsmouth Grammar School in 1986 and from University College and Middlesex Hospital School of Medicine (University of London) in 1992. He was awarded 1st Class BSc Honours (Medicine and Cell Pathology, University of London) in 1989 and MB BS (University of London) 1992. He became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) 1995 and Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (UK) in 1998. In 1999 he was awarded Certification of European Society of Medical Oncology. Following a period of study at Imperial College Business School he was awarded the Advanced Certificate in Health Care Management (University of London) in 2000. Between 1998 and 2001 he studied for a Medical Doctorate (MD Res) at The Institute of Cancer Research, University of London, which he was awarded in 2001. He was awarded PhD from City University in 2012.
He was appointed Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden Hospital and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Clinical Oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research in 2001. He was Clinical Director of the Head and Neck Unit at The Royal Marsden Hospital in 2002-2020. In 2003-2006 he was the National Clinical Lead in Head and Neck Cancer for the Department of Health (UK) and the Cancer Services Collaborative. He joined the National Cancer Research Institute Committee (NCRI) Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Studies Group (CSG) in 2003 and was Chairman of the CSG in 2006-2012. During his 6-year period as Chair, the CSG became the highest performing rare cancer with an increase in national clinical trial recruitment to record levels. He was National Clinical Oncology advisor to the Data for Head and Neck Oncology (DAHNO) project 2005-2010.
In 2007-2010 he was President of the British Oncological Association. In 2009 he was appointed Co-Chair of The Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy and Radiobiology Working Group of the NCRI.
He is currently President of the Royal Society of Medicine Oncology Section.
Since 2019 he had been Chair of the NCRI UK Proton Beam Therapy Research Group in the UK responsible for research in the NHS’s £250M Proton Beam facilities.
He remains Clinical Director at The Royal Marsden Hospital responsible for the new diagnostic and treatment centre in Cavendish Square.
Professor Christopher Nutting is Principal Investigator for a number of research trials including the Cancer Research UK sponsored PARSPORT, COSTAR, ARTDECO and DARS Trials. He is joint holder of CRUK program grant “Physical and biological optimisation of radiotherapy in head and neck cancer”. He is principle or co-investigator on an additional 15 trials in head and neck cancer sponsored by The Royal Marsden Hospital or by the pharmaceutical industry. He is Principal and/or Co-investigator of research grants for advancement of radiotherapy and chemotherapy research from Cancer Research UK, HTA, and the pharmaceutical industry. As a regular contributor to International medical publications and meetings, he has published over 300 articles in his areas of expertise. He has received National and International Awards and Professorships for his advances in research into head and neck cancer radiotherapy. In 2018 he was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, one of the youngest doctors to be awarded this accolade.
Name:
Christopher Martin Nutting
Education:
Portsmouth Grammar School
University College and Middlesex Hospital School of Medicine
Qualifications:
1st Class BSc Cell Pathology (University of London) 1989
MB BS (University of London) 1992
Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) 1995
Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (UK) 1998
European Society of Medical Oncology Certification 1999
Advanced Certificate in Health Management (Imperial College
Management School, University of London) 2000
Medical Doctorate (MD), University of London 2001
PhD, University of London 2012
Postgraduate Prizes and Awards:
Lifetime Achievement Award from British Association of Head and Neck Oncology 2022
Honorary Life Fellowship of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists 2022
Fellow Academy of Medical Sciences 2018
Quality in Care Award 2013 – “Improving the quality of life and experience of care for people living with cancer” category
Stanley Melville Award, British Institute of Radiology, 2012
Faculty Member, American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology 2011 and 2012
Visiting Professor, National Oncology Centre, Muscat, Oman 2011
British Institute of Radiology Mackenzie Davidson Memorial Medal and Lecture 2010
Royal College of Radiologists/IPEM Cochrane-Shanks-Jalill Visiting Professorship Cluj-Napocou, Romania, 2010
Faculty Member, American Society of Clinical Oncology 2009
European Congress on Clinical Oncology “Best of 2009” plenary on PARSPORT trial results
Merck Sorono Visiting Professorship to Eastern Australia 2009
Markson Lecturer, Glasgow University 2004
ESTRO-Varian Clinical Oncology Prize 2001
British Institute of Radiology Sir Godfrey Hounsfield Lecturer 2000
Royal College of Radiologists Ross Award 2000 (for presentation to BCRM)
British Institute of Radiology Flude Prize 2000 (for advancing UK radiology)
European School of Oncology Hans Wyder Travel Fellowship 2000
Leonard Levy Prize (best oral paper presentation at IOS 2000)
Royal College of Radiologists Durrant Travelling Fellowship 1999
RSM Radiology Section Finzi Prize Winner 1999
Cancer Research Campaign Clinical Research Fellowship 1998
The Royal Marsden Hospital Ronald Raven Clinical Research Prize 1998
Undergraduate:
Cancer Research Campaign National Undergraduate Prize 1991
Royal College of Radiologists Undergraduate Prize 1991
Allen Goldsmith Clinical Prize in Oncology (Medical School finals)
Maurice Elton Prize in Oncology (Medical School Essay Prize)
Reitlinger Prize (University of London intercalated BSc Prize)
John Jepson Essay Prize (“The Molecular Basis of Medicine”)
Poster prize, Uro-oncology ’90 meeting
Appointments
Current:
Current:
Consultant in Clinical Oncology The Royal Marsden Hospital
Clinical Director The Royal Marsden at Cavendish Square
Professor in Clinical Oncology, The Institute of Cancer Research.
President of the Royal Society of Medicine Oncology Section
Chair of the NCRI UK Proton Beam Therapy Research Group (UK)
Past-President of British Oncological Association
Previous:
Clinical Director of Head and Neck Unit, The Royal Marsden Hospital
Joint Head of Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research
Co-Chair (Phase III trials) Clinical Trials Radiotherapy Research Working Group
2006-2012 – Chairman National Cancer Research Institute Clinical Studies Group for head and neck cancer
2000-2001 – Senior Registrar, Radiotherapy and Oncology, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.
1998-2000 – Cancer Research Campaign Clinical Research Fellow and Honorary Senior Registrar, Department of Urological Oncology and Academic Radiotherapy Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton.
1995-1998 – Specialist Registrar training rotation in Clinical Oncology at the The Royal Marsden Hospital, London and Surrey, and St Luke’s Hospital, Guildford
1993-1995 – Senior House Officer rotation in General Medicine at University Hospital, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham
1992-1993 – House Officer at Middlesex and University College Hospitals (Clinical Oncology) then at Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford (General Surgery)
Clinical Practice:
General:
My current clinical post specialises in management of patients with head and neck, thyroid and lung malignancy. I work within the Royal Marsden, Royal Brompton, and St Georges Hospitals. I have strong academic links with The Institute of Cancer Research especially with the Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit (CTSU) and sections of Radiotherapy and Imaging including Medical Physics. The post provides tertiary care for Local, National and International referrals. I have experience in managing a large research portfolio as well as developing head and neck, thyroid, and lung cancer services. All my patients are treated in clinical or research protocols with external beam radiation, chemotherapy and surgery. I have special interest in and am The Royal Marsden Hospital Clinical Lead for conformal radiotherapy, IMRT, stereotactic and brachytherapy programmes in the head and neck region. I hold clinical research grants in excess of £1M and typically have a portfolio of clinical trials open in my specialist area.
International:
I have close personal collaborations with the major cancer centres in the USA particularly at the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center in New York, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. We regularly discuss complex patients and conduct medical exchanges. I have also visited many other centres in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and USA that have implemented high-tech radiotherapy techniques.
Research:
I firmly believe that the future of improving outcomes in cancer treatment is through well designed clinical research programmes.
During my Intercalated BSc (University College London, 1989) I worked in the cell biology laboratory and gained experience of cell culture and basic laboratory techniques such as clonogenic cell survival assays. The project studied growth factor and retinoid interactions in bladder cancer cell lines.
During my MD (ICR 1998-2000) I was able to show the ability of conformal radiotherapy techniques to allow normal-tissue sparing and escalation of radiation dose. I described class solutions for IMRT in the treatment of tumours of the paranasal sinuses, larynx, hypopharynx, thyroid, parotid, oesophagus, prostate and pelvic lymph node irradiation. This period of research culminated in the clinical implementation of the IMRT programme at the RMT/ICR that treated the first patients with inverse-planned IMRT in September 2000 in the context of a Phase I/II pelvic node dose escalation study in prostate cancer patients.
Since my appointment at the RMH in 2001 I have developed a number of academic collaborations with colleagues at the ICR in sections of Clinical Trials, Radiotherapy, Joint Department of Physics, MRI research, and Cell and Molecular Biology. I have developed my research areas with clinical trial protocols and radiotherapy technical development concentrating on head and neck and thyroid cancer.
