Centre François Baclesse in Caen and Centre Henri Becquerel in Rouen are two CLCCs (cancer centres) in Normandy. These private, non-profit, healthcare centres work in three areas of oncology: healthcare, education and research. Let’s find out more about two centres that have set a benchmark in the region, whose research and unique features are beacons of hope that put Normandy in the limelight.
Who and what are these centres for?
It’s not a cheery subject but it is an important one. The CLCC cancer centres were set up by General de Gaulle who saw cancer as a “unique” disease because of its high number of victims and intense treatment. These Cancer centres stand out for being solely devoted to cancer in three areas: healthcare, education and research.
Outside our sectors of excellence, we all conduct research, we all train healthcare professionals and we provide access to treatment that gets results
Their ESPIC status (non-profit private healthcare facility) also ensures everyone has free, equal access to treatment and real collective expertise, since the disease is treated by several specialists devoted exclusively to the structure (no private practices or excess fees): oncologists, radiation therapists, surgeons, anatomic pathologists, nuclear radiologists, occupational therapists and more. “Having several different areas of expertise on-site means we can base our treatment on the type of cancer and better tailor it to the patient and their needs,” says Marie Parain, head of communication at Centre Henri Becquerel in Rouen. There may be 20 similar facilities nationwide, but both of Normandy’s centres are renowned in one or two areas.
Proton Therapy and Genomics: Caen’s Cutting-Edge Cancer Centre Innovations
Since 2018 and the arrival of the Proteus One, Caen has become one of three proton therapy centres in France. “It’s a radiotherapy technique that uses high-energy proton beams instead of X-rays to target the tumour without damaging the surrounding tissue,” says Pr Marc-André Mahé, managing director. The technique is part of the ARCHADE project, a European hadron therapy research programme under way in Normandy, and is currently only used to treat inoperable cancers “in the head and neck” among children and adults.
The research projects are conducted as a platform with the help of expertise from several local figures, laboratories and infrastructures: Ganil, Labeo, Inserm, CNRS, Cyceron etc.
It has more than one string to its bow. It also excels in genomics which, when it comes to cancer, studies the genetic features of a tumour to help predict, diagnose and treat the disease better. The oncogenomics lab at Centre François Baclesse – one of the first in France – formed a partnership in September 2021 with LABEO, Normandy’s analysis and research centre. What’s the idea? To officially pool their infrastructures, projects and equipment to make Normandy a leading light in genomics and support healthcare. “The concept is based on the fact that human, animal and environmental health are all related,” says Pr Mahé.
Another example is the mid-2022 opening of an investigation, research, innovation and treatment centre to provide patients with pioneering treatments in the form of clinical trials before they go on the market.
Haematology: research and diagnostics in Rouen
Centre Henri Becquerel is renowned for its expertise in haematology, for “blood” cancers such as lymphoma and leukemia. The centre regularly stands out for its research on the world stage. Its expertise recently came to the fore through the work of Dr. Hervé Tilly, who is also president of the European lymphoma institute: “his study was published in the world’s best healthcare review in December 2021. It proves that the treatment reduces relapse or exacerbation by 27% with no side effects, compared to existing treatment developed 20 years ago,” says Marie Parain. The centre is the only one in Normandy to have begun using revolutionary Car-T Cells to treat certain forms of cancer.
Our centre is world-renowned for the standard of its haematology research. The only group of Normandy researchers to gain notoriety in this field
Another example? Research by the centre’s INSERM unit in the same field saw the foundation of Genexpath in 2020, a start-up supported by Normandie Incubation. What’s the idea? To provide as many people as possible with real scientific work to detect and identify certain types of tumour. “The researchers designed and sold lymphoma and sarcoma diagnostic kits: it isn’t about making money, it’s about making them available to every healthcare professional and laboratory.
Projects and acclaim
The two Normandy cancer centres continue to thrive. Centre Henri Becquerel is currently upgrading and expanding its site. It’s restricted by its size and hopes to open a new building by 2025. “It will house all the outpatient services (chemotherapy, outpatient surgery, palliative care) as well as consultation rooms, reception, a coordination platform with the city, car park etc.” The site will have a bridge to the old building and also have a health education unit for school groups. “We really want to break the mould and make it a hospital that looks nothing like a hospital,” says Marie Parain.
Be bold with colour, talk about life, the idea is to see another side to the disease
Caen is focused on globalisation and providing treatment to overseas patients. “We have a global development strategy,” says Hermeline Delepouve, head of communication, international relations and patronage at Centre François Baclesse. Why? To take Normandy’s expertise beyond our borders and treat patients who don’t have access to proton therapy in their country. For example, Centre François Baclesse took part in the healthcare fortnight at the universal exhibition in Dubai in January 2022. “What makes promoting our oncology expertise abroad easier is being in Normandy, as the region is famous overseas.
Good to know
The two Normandy centres are part of the Unicancer network which has 19 CLCCs and 1 affiliate nationwide. Centre Henri Becquerel and Centre François Baclesse also work with the Lille CLCC as part of a “Grand Ouest” partnership called C3 to pool experiences, techniques and information.
Centre François Baclesse ranked in Newsweek 2021’s top 100 specialist hospitals in the world and has a European accreditation – a quality label approved by the OECI (Organisation of European Cancer Institutes). The Caen centre’s cancer biology and genetics laboratory won the Unicancer prize for innovation in 2022 with GIScar, a genome instability score for ovarian cancers. It detects genomic scars in tumours to successfully treat around 50% of women with an aggressive form of ovarian cancer.
Four researchers at Centre Henri Becquerel were in the top 20 French lymphoma specialists according to a 2021 report by the French Research Coordination Board and FHF (French Hospital Federation). It’s also the 2nd best CLCC in France in terms of publications and world renown for the disease.
The Rouen centre won the national innovation award in late 2022 at the national CLCC convention. The outpatient surgery team were recognised in the careers category for the unit’s efficiency, which is number one in France for mastectomies (surgical removal of one or both breasts).
Another example? Research by the centre’s INSERM unit in the same field saw the foundation of Genexpath in 2020, a start-up supported by Normandie Incubation. What’s the idea? To provide as many people as possible with real scientific work to detect and identify certain types of tumour. “The researchers designed and sold lymphoma and sarcoma diagnostic kits: it isn’t about making money, it’s about making them available to every healthcare professional and laboratory.”
Healthcare in Normandy
Thematics
