Cancer patients to trial oxygen therapy used by divers

They will breathe pure oxygen in a sealed chamber while the air pressure is slowly increased, a process known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HOT).

Doctors hope the treatment, which is used to tackle decompression sickness in divers, will help patients suffering side effects from radiotherapy for pelvic cancers.

These include cancer of the cervix, the ovaries, the prostate, the testicles, the bowel, the bladder and the womb.

Although most patients suffer no long term effects after stopping radiotherapy, about 30% develop unpleasant problems, such as diarrhoea, stomach cramps and frequent bowel movements.

The HOT II trial will involve 75 patients, and take place at specialist centres in London, Cardiff, Chichester, Great Yarmouth, Hull, Plymouth and the Wirral.

One of the scientists leading the trial, Professor John Yarnold, from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital, said: “It’s very difficult for patients who have already suffered through cancer and radiotherapy treatment to be left with these debilitating side-effects.

“We hope to answer once and for all whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy will improve their quality of life.”

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