Meet the researcher - Dr Nikila Patil
Improving equity of access to clinical trials.
Dr Nikila Patil is a clinical oncology trainee, who specialises in treating cancer with radiotherapy.
Hope Against Cancer is supporting Dr Patil to complete an MD during her training.
Dr Patil’s work is focused on understanding the impact of Race and Ethnicity on toxicity with radiotherapy in head and neck cancer, the results of this and how this could support a patient’s best treatment plan.
Dr Patil is also studying the cultural challenges faced by both patients and healthcare professionals and working to understand how this information may be used to support the development of treatment strategies that are mindful of cultural differences.
Dr Patil has shown previously that in South Asian individuals receiving radical radiotherapy for oral cavity cancers, a specific type of head and neck cancer, poorer results have been seen.
With 39.6% of the population of Leicester identifying as South Asian and high mortality rates for this type of cancer within Leicester, this is an important focus for research.
This research will help us to improve cancer care pathways for those receiving treatment for head and neck cancer and understand how ethnicity may impact on the treatment toxicity.
This is important work to help us improve equity of access to clinical trials.
The Director of the Hope Cancer Trials Centre, Dr Harriet Walter, said that “the support of Hope Against Cancer is key to supporting the academic career development of junior investigators.
“Dr Patil, through the support of Hope Against Cancer, is able to undertake important work that will directly benefit our local population.”
Research and clinical trials are a circle of collaboration: research supports clinical trials and clinical trials support research.
Hope Against Cancer is proud to support such work which has recently been published in the British Journal of Cancer.
John Nellis
Content and Communications Officer, Hope Against Cancer
