©
Holt-Martyn, et al. 2026. Reproduced from RSC Medicinal Chemistry
The study, published in RSC Medicinal Chemistry describes the development of a novel oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) inhibitor capable of reducing oxygen consumption in tumour cells. By lowering cellular oxygen demand, the compound increases oxygen availability within tumours, alleviating hypoxia and potentially increasing tumour sensitivity to radiotherapy.
The research was led by Professor Geoff Higgins from the Department of Oncology in collaboration with Professor Christopher Schofield from the Department of Chemistry.
Hypoxia is a common feature of solid tumours. It arises because rapidly growing tumours develop abnormal and chaotic blood vessel networks, creating poorly oxygenated regions within the cancer. These hypoxic areas are strongly associated with poor treatment outcomes, particularly in radiotherapy. One of the main ways in which radiotherapy exerts its cancer killing effects is by generating DNA strand breaks, which are much harder for cancer cells to repair under hypoxic conditions.
Although tumour hypoxia has been recognised as a major barrier to effective treatment for decades, attempts to overcome it have faced significant challenges.