The Adelaide researcher faced a competitive national field to win the three-year Cancer Council Australia Fellowship worth $100,000 each year, commencing in 2009. 

Associate Professor Howarth is a former Cancer Council SA Fellow and his discoveries in the use of natural therapies to reduce the potentially deadly side effects of chemotherapy have generated international interest.

Cancer Council SA Chief Executive, Associate Professor Brenda Wilson, said “South Australia is home to some of the most talented scientists and clinicians in the nation.”

“National funding for cancer research is highly sought after and fiercely competitive – Professor Howarth has proven that his research is some of the most promising in Australia and we look forward to seeing the results of his work.”

Associate Professor Howarth’s research has revealed that natural therapies such as lyprinol (an extract from a New Zealand shell-fish), emu oil and grape seed extract are demonstrating great promise in relieving the symptoms of mucositis – an inflammatory side-effect caused by chemotherapy.

Associate Professor Howarth said that mucositis is life-threatening and generally experienced by 40 - 60 per cent of cancer patients, and almost 100 per cent of patients undergoing more aggressive chemotherapy regimens.

“The condition limits the amount of chemotherapy a cancer patient can withstand. Eliminating mucositis would mean that patients can be given higher doses of chemotherapy, resulting in better treatment outcomes.”

“This significant funding opportunity from the Cancer Council will greatly facilitate the development of new treatment strategies for mucositis, including the exciting clinical potential for specific ‘probiotics’ (health-promoting bacteria) to protect the intestine from injury,” he said.