Every two years, the International Academy of Oral Oncology (IAOO) holds a global congress and clinicians from around the world attend to share updates in the field of oral cancer. This year LightOx’s Biology Team Leader Cole Sims and the LightOx team presented our work on LXD191, LightOx’s new early-stage treatment for oral cancers is nearing clinical trials.
An update and thoughts are shared below;
A major challenge in the field of early-stage oral cancer, which was a key focus of this year’s congress, is the difficulty of diagnosing and treating pre-malignant lesions before they become cancerous: How can we try to predict which lesions will become cancerous and which won’t? And how can we avoid carrying out unnecessary surgery if these aren’t going to develop into “later stage” cancers?
This is a global challenge that affects many millions of people and it’s something that we want to help tackle with the new treatments we’re developing.
At IAOO 2025 we had the opportunity to present the pre-clinical work we’ve completed and explain how our light-activated treatment for oral cancers works. It’s targeted at early stage, pre-malignant oral cancers which is an area where few other solutions exist and is one of the reasons why our work has been incredibly well received.
Facing one of oral cancer’s biggest challenges
As well as sharing our own work, the LightOx team was present to learn more about the prevalence of oral cancers around the world and the wider impact of what we’re doing.
Learning about the cost implications of operations to remove oral cancers, and the fact that some patients can’t afford this treatment really hit home. There were many takeaways from the event, but none more poignant than just how life-changing early-stage interventions can be and how many people could benefit.
Which is, ultimately, the reason why we do what we do.
A turning point for LightOx
Now our pre-clinical work is nearly complete and next year we will start clinical trials in humans. The delegates at the conference are the clinicians who will be using our treatments on their patients and there was a lot of interest in our progress – specifically around how doctors, clinicians and surgeons will be able to use the treatment, when it will be available, and so on.
Reaching the stage where we can demonstrate how and why our drug works to an international audience of clinicians feels like a real turning point. And being able to give them a sense of when this treatment could become available to patients around the world marked a significant milestone.
The response from delegates showed just how much interest there is in our work, with key opinion leaders telling us they think it will change the field of oral cancer care in a dramatic way. The conference reinforced for our team the real impact that our work can have and was both empowering and motivating. Helping drive us towards our shared purpose of making a difference and really moving the dial in oral mouth cancer treatments.
The IAOO congress happens every two years and the next one is in Brazil. We hope that, when we present in Rio de Janeiro, we’ll be able to share clinical results and talk about getting this drug into the hands of clinicians who are treating patients all around the world.
LightOx’s new treatment is designed to be applied directly to pre-cancerous oral lesions. It is a light-activated, minimally-invasive treatment for early-stage cancers. Learn more about it, and see the timeline for clinical trials, here.
