New ‘Parp inhibitors’ could prevent certain tumours appearing

Breakthrough research could see some genetic cancers neutralised before they take hold and is already being used for people at risk

Sue Hayward was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2017. Doctors acted swiftly and she was given a hysterectomy followed by sessions of chemotherapy.

But her cancer returned within a year. I carry a mutated version of a gene known as BRCA1 which makes me susceptible to breast and ovarian cancers," said Hayward, who works at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. It runs in families. My mother died of cancer and we assume her mother did as well."