Women treated for ovarian cancer at Barts Health have best one-year survival rate

Written by: Paul Thomas

28/11/2025

A report in England and Wales, released by The National Ovarian Cancer Audit, placed Barts Health as having the best one-year survival rates for ovarian cancer.

This is the second national audit that recognises Barts Health as the best for survival, with the service also coming out on top for five-year survival rates in the previous audit.

The National Ovarian Cancer Audit State of the Nation Report was published in September 2024, reviewing the care received by women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in England in 2021 and in Wales in 2022. It showed that women treated at Barts Health have the highest 1-year survival of all Trusts in England and Wales with an adjusted 1 year survival rate of 80%, compared to an all-England average of 69.4%.

How did Barts Health achieve this?

Women from across north east London, no matter where they are referred from, have their surgical treatment at The Royal London Hospital, with chemotherapy either at St Bartholomew’s or Queens Hospital.

Each care plan is individually tailored to the patient depending on their diagnosis. The team’s ethos is to offer radical treatment for their ovarian cancer to all who want it, even those with advanced stage at diagnosis. Multiple teams work together to achieve the best outcomes, and proactive steps are put in place to ensure the patient is prepared for their treatment.

The Gynaecology teams in the referring hospitals all work quickly to ensure women with possible ovarian cancer have the necessary tests in a timely manner and are promptly referred to the team at The Royal London Hospital.

Those who need surgery are placed on a prehabilitation programme that focusses on diet and exercise to get them in the best physical shape for their operation. This support means that a greater proportion of women can be offered radical ovarian cancer surgery, with the aim to remove all the disease and improve prognosis.

Time between diagnosis to treatment is also critical; anything over four weeks being known to potentially impact on patient’s survival. At The Royal London Hospital, theatre slots for women with advanced ovarian cancer are ring fenced ahead of time, helping the team to streamline treatment pathways.

When chemotherapy is advised as the first treatment, the Medical Oncology team will review women within a few days of the decision and promptly start chemotherapy.

After surgery, if needed, the first chemotherapy appointment is already booked ahead of time and the Medical Oncologist will see the patient on the same day as her surgical follow up or just a few days later. This forward planning means that women can complete the next part of their treatment just as quickly as their first.

Elly Brockbank, consultant gynaecological oncologist and clinical lead for the service said:

“This is a prime example of teams bringing their expertise together for the good of our patients. Our integrated approach across all our multi-disciplinary team members is a key driver behind our success.

“We are very pleased with this achievement, which has provided a significant morale boost for our dedicated team. Thank you to all who have contributed to this outcome.”

A team is pictured in a park getting ready to take part in a charity run. Pictured above is some of the gynae consultant team, who look after women with ovarian cancer, at the end of a sponsored 10K run that they did to raise money for Ovacome in 2020.