Research team recruit 100th patient to neuroblastoma cancer trial

Congratulations to the paediatric oncology research team at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH) who recently recruited the 100th patient onto the BEACON study.

Led locally by Dr Brennan, Consultant Paediatric Oncologist and the paediatric oncology research team at RMCH, the study aims to understand more about a form of cancer called neuroblastoma.  Fewer than 100 children in the UK are diagnosed each year with neuroblastoma. Most children who get this cancer are younger than five years old.

The BEACON-Neuroblastoma study, supported by the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network is a randomised trial taking place across the UK to compare a number of different treatments for patients aged 1-16 years with neuroblastoma that isn’t responding to treatment or has returned.

The sponsor for BEACON; Cancer Research UK, have thanked the children’s oncology team for their

enormous contribution to the trial.

Anne Littley, Paediatric Oncology Research Specialist Practitioner at RMCH said;

when the trial number for the patient came through at 100, none of us thought anything about it until we received an email congratulating us on randomising patient #100. We all smiled; it is really good to have a thank you and hopefully this trial will enable children with relapsed Neuroblastoma to have the correct treatment in the future.