A clinical trial testing an investigational drug for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) has opened for recruitment at UCLH.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a cancer of the blood cells. Around 800 people in the UK are diagnosed with ALL each year, and B-cell acute ALL (B-ALL) is the most common type in adults.
Despite progress in treating B-ALL, there remains a need for safer and more effective therapies. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) - which use targeted antibodies to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells - are a promising treatment option for a range of cancers, including acute leukaemia. However, existing ADCs are associated with side effects that can limit their use.
The trial is investigating an investigational ADC. Researchers want to find out whether the investigational drug is safe and effective as a potential treatment for B-ALL.
This is the first time this investigational drug has been studied in humans. It combines a cell-killing drug with an antibody designed to find and attach to a protein called CD22 on the surface of cells. This allows the drug, given intravenously as an infusion, to enter the cell and destroy it. CD22 is found on healthy white blood cells called B lymphocytes, as well as on B-ALL cancer cells.
The study is being delivered at the NIHR Clinical Research Facility: UCLH by consultant haematologist Jenny O'Nions, who has recruited the first participant in the UK to the trial.
Dr O'Nions said: "We're delighted to be leading recruitment to this important trial in the UK. Patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia urgently need treatment options that are both effective and easier to tolerate, and this study will help us understand whether this new drug can offer that. We are extremely grateful to our first participant and their family for helping to advance this research."
