Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is first centre in the UK to trial an antibody as a Phase 3 study in the treatment of young patients with leukaemia

Paediatric oncology researchers at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH) are the first team in the UK to trial antibody, Blinatumomab, to investigate whether it removes tumour cells in young leukaemia patients.

Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at RMCH, Dr John Grainger is leading the study to investigate the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of the BiTE antibody Blinatumomab as a consolidation therapy compared to chemotherapy treatment, for children with B-precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), who have relapsed after their standard treatment.

ALL is a cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes (a type of white blood cells) and normal blood cell development in the marrow is reduced.

More than 200 children and teenagers in Europe, Israel and Australia are set to take part in the trial, to determine if Blinatumomab is safe for young patients and whether it causes any side effects. The study will also look to see if Blinatumomab effectively eliminates tumour cells from the body.

Dr Grainger said:

I am delighted that Manchester has been chosen as the first UK centre to open up this new study for patients with ALL. It is a credit to the team here that we were selected, due to the fantastic track record of running clinical trials.

“Blinatumomab is a type of an antibody and they help the healthy white blood cells in the body to defend against bacteria or viruses. They can also help attack cancer cells. The antibody acts as a link, with one part of it binding to the surface of a cancer cell and the other part of it binding to the surface of a healthy white blood cell. By doing this, it helps the healthy white blood cells to eliminate the leukemic cancer cells.

“We hope that as a result of this trial, Blinatumomab will demonstrate a reduction in the risk of relapse for young patients, and increase chances of achieving a complete remission at the end of treatment.”