In collaboration with the University of Oxford and the Churchill Hospital Cancer Centre, The Howat Foundation is pleased to announce their support of a very promising new clinical trial being run by Dr Geoff Higgins at the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre.

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The trial will investigate the effects that a safe and widely available anti-malarial medicine (called atovaquone) has on tumour hypoxia. Hypoxic (oxygen starved) tumour cells behave more aggressively and are harder to treat effectively than ‘normal’ tumour cells.  However, in Oxford, researchers have shown that this anti-malarial drug eradicates tumour hypoxia and makes the tumours far more sensitive to radiotherapy treatment.

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If the ATOM trial demonstrates that this medicine exerts the same effects in patients it may mean that this drug can be used in combination with radiotherapy to dramatically improve treatment for future cancer patients.

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