AN OXFORD University student has received national acclaim for his “illuminating” study of ovarian cancer.

Medical student Daniel Klotz, 29, won second place at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s National Conference for Aspiring Surgeons.

His research outlined a novel technique for marking tiny cancer deposits with fluorescent proteins which could enable early detection for patients with ovarian cancer.

The study is significant because currently 70 per cent of women who have surgery for this type of cancer develop tumours again within 12 to 14 months.

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Recurrence is often caused by deposits of cancer cells which could be removed if spotted early, but are so small that even MRI scans can’t detect them.

Mr Klotz read out a paper on the study he co-authored, which was published in the journal of the American Cancer Society.

The awards night was held at the School of Chemistry, University of Bristol.

He said: “I am very glad that my presentation was well received and I hope this could be a positive example of how medical students can work at the interface between basic science and clinical research during their medical degree.”

The contest called on the best and brightest medical students and foundation doctors from around the UK to present new ideas and share their passion on innovation, safety and quality in surgery, to help shape the future of healthcare.

Mr Klotz is in his final year of studying medicine at Pembroke College.