Youngest cancer patient treated with Nanoknife is cancer-free

A two-year-old boy from north London who was the youngest person to be treated for cancer with Nanoknife technology is now cancer-free.

George, from Camden, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a type of soft tissue cancer in his liver and bile duct, in the summer of 2023.

“I will never forget that moment,” said his father Jonathan. “It felt like my entire world had collapsed.”

After three rounds of chemotherapy, he was treated using Nanoknife technology at King’s College Hospital, which uses electrical current to destroy areas of cancer.

Dr Sam Godfrey, science engagement lead at Cancer Research UK, described Nanoknife as a state of the art, experimental treatment.

By using electrical currents it allows surgeons to get a better margin of clearance around a tumour so that the cancer can be removed.

King’s College Hospital had to apply for a licence to use the Nanoknife and performed the operation on the NHS.

George was the youngest person in the world to have the procedure and the first child in the UK to receive Nanoknife treatment to his liver, Cancer Research UK said.

Dr Godfrey said George’s “cutting edge surgical treatment will inform the treatment of children around the world.”

“The surgeons managed to remove all the tumour and had clear margins all the way around the removed section of his liver,” Jonathan said.

“This was the news we’d been hoping and praying for.

“From the day George was diagnosed, all we did was push and push to get him the treatment he needed.

“We loved that the Nanoknife was something new and ground-breaking and we felt we had some input into making it happen.”

After 18 months, George was cancer-free and started nursery school in September.

George has been awarded the Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People Star Award for the courage he showed throughout his treatment.