Clinical trial to investigate effect of reduced chemotherapy - The UKALL15 Trial
Professor Adele Fielding and her team are running a clinical trial to see if they can kind a kinder and more effective way of treating acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The project involves tailoring treatment to individuals based on the type of ALL they have and a detailed risk score.
The project aims
ALL is a type of blood cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow - the spongey material inside our bones. Current treatments for ALL are not always effective, and there is an urgent need to find alternative therapies with less toxic side-effects. and have unpleasant side effects. We are teaming up with Cancer Research UK are teaming up to fund this research.
The team want to see if:
- Adding alternative drug treatment within chemotherapy treatment is a kinder and more effective way of treating ALL.
- Tailor treatment by using a more detailed “risk score” can help decide on the best treatment plan.
The project
In this trial, people with ALL will be randomly given one of two possible treatments. People will receive either the best available standard treatment or chemotherapy treatment with alternative drug treatments replacing some of the chemotherapy sessions. The drug treatments will vary depending on the type of ALL a person has e.g. B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) verses T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL).
The treatment someone receives will also depend on an individual’s risk score, based on data collected in a previous research trial (UKALL14).
As ALL is quite rare in adults, this trial is being carried out with doctors and patients in countries outside the UK, including the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. Researchers hope that this will help to enrol patients more quickly so that they can find alternative treatment options that are more effective than existing treatments.