Ricky Sharma

At the Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology in Oxford, Dr Ricky Sharma and his team are running a clinical trial called FOXFIRE. This trial aims to find the best way to treat bowel cancer patients whose cancer has spread to the liver.

Once bowel cancer has spread to the liver, it can sometimes be removed with surgery. If this isn’t possible, doctors may give chemotherapy to try and shrink the tumours. There is also a new kind of radiotherapy treatment involving injecting tiny beads that release radiation over a very small area, known as radioembolisation. This helps to kill cancer cells and the blood supply that feeds them, if they can’t be completely removed by surgery.

The researchers are finding out which is the best treatment for these patients: chemotherapy alone or in combination with radiotherapy bead treatment. Finding more effective ways to treat bowel cancer that has spread will make a big difference to patients in the future.