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HHMT International Forum on Ovarian Cancer

HHMT 2019 School Photo - 01.jpg

What is HHMT?

The Helene Harris Memorial Trust International Forum on Ovarian Cancer - sometimes shortened to ‘HHMT’ in the scientific community – is a conference organised by Ovarian Cancer Action. Every four years, we bring together the world’s leading ovarian cancer experts to discuss and debate what we need to do to make ovarian cancer a survivable disease. By collaborating on an international scale, we will reach our goals quicker.

The HHMT International Forum on Ovarian Cancer has five key aims:

  1. Share knowledge: to bring together the best researchers from around the world to discuss developments and share their most recent work. 
  2. Foster collaboration: to encourage experts to work together across international borders.
  3. Chart the way ahead: to plan strategies to accelerate progress in research into ovarian cancer. 
  4. Educate the next generation: to ensure young and established researchers are tuned into the latest scientific thinking and directions. 
  5. By doing all of the above, we hope to achieve our most fundamental goal: to make ovarian cancer a survivable disease. 

When is the next HHMT?
The HHMT 15th International Forum on Ovarian Cancer will take place in October 2024, bringing together leading ovarian cancer researchers from across the globe.

  • Location: Surrey, United Kingdom
  • Dates: Sunday 6th October - Wednesday 9th October 2024
  • Chairs: Professor Fran Balkwill and Professor David Bowtell
  • Scientific Programme Committee: Professor Iain McNeish, Professor Ernst Lengl, Professor Brad Nelson, Professor Kate Chiappinelli, Professor Stehpanie Lheureux

More information will be announced in early 2024.

When was the last HHMT?

The 14th HHMT took place in September 2019, right here in the UK. The theme was immunotherapy, a promising new treatment that is already being used to treat advanced melanoma and kidney cancer to great effect. Unfortunately, immunotherapy is currently unavailable for ovarian cancer — we want to change that. 

When was the first HHMT International Forum on Ovarian Cancer?

The first HHMT International Forum on Ovarian Cancer took place in 1986, not long after Helene Harris was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Determined to find the best possible treatment options, Helene and her husband John travelled to New York, where they were surprised to learn that the UK and US had very different approaches to treatment. Despite their best efforts, within a few months of that visit, ovarian cancer sadly claimed Helene’s life. Together with their grown up children, Allyson and Daniel, John resolved to set up the HHMT International Forum on Ovarian Cancer to ensure global experts worked together.

Helene and John’s daughter, Allyson Kaye, started Ovarian Cancer Action to continue to fund the international collaboration through HHMT and to raise symptom awareness of ovarian cancer.

To date we have funded over £12 million of research projects, opened the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre and tirelessly campaign to spread symptom awareness across the UK and beyond. 

Help us make breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment and make ovarian cancer a survivable disease


HHMT Lake Como

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