Eve Wiltshaw (23 January 1927 – 13 May 2008) was a British physician who was a researcher and consultant at the

Royal Marsden Hospital The Royal Marsden Hospital is a specialist National Health Service oncology hospital in London based at two sites in Brompton, in Kensington and Chelsea, and Belmont in Sutton. It is managed by The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and supp ...

. She was an expert in medical oncology, and led the United Kingdom's first clinical trials of

cisplatin Cisplatin is a chemical compound with chemical formula, formula ''cis''-. It is a coordination complex of platinum that is used as a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of cancers. These include testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, c ...

. In 1998, she wrote ''A History of the Royal Marsden Hospital''.

Research and career

In 1955, Wiltshaw joined the

, where she established the Sarcoma Unit, which provided multi-disciplinary care to people with cancer. After the 1970 discovery that

was an effective anti-cancer drug, Wiltshaw was involved with the discovery of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. She ran the clinical trials of cisplatin at the Royal Marsden, the first trial of the drug in the United Kingdom. Despite the drug causing some side effects (particularly kidney toxicity and nausea), it was effective for people with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

. In the years that followed, researchers looked to develop anti-cancer drugs that were as effective but caused fewer adverse effects. Eventually researchers identified

carboplatin Carboplatin, sold under the brand name Paraplatin among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of forms of cancer. This includes ovarian cancer, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, brain cancer, and neuroblastoma. It is a ...

, and Wiltshaw led the clinical trials that showed it was just as effective as cisplatin. Wiltshaw was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for her contributions to cancer care.

Personal life

After Wiltshaw died in 2008, the Royal Marsden Hospital named a ward in her honour.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiltshaw, Eve 1927 births 2008 deaths 20th-century British medical doctors British women medical doctors Physicians of the Royal Marsden Hospital 20th-century British women medical doctors Members of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of the British Empire