Paediatric haematology and oncology

We are one of five designated phase I trial centres for children’s cancer in the UK and one of five UK Innovative Therapies for Childhood Cancer (ITCC) First-in-Child centres (one of only 19 in Europe).

We are also the lead centre for the national Paediatric Network ECMC, which is funded by the National Institute for Health Research.

This consists of 9 UK centres running early phase clinical trials in children’s cancer. We have a large research portfolio from phase I to phase III studies covering the full range of childhood cancers, both haematological (relating to the blood) and solid tumours, from the most common to the rarest.

We also take part in biological and pharmacokinetic studies, which are often part of clinical trials, and have been the highest recruiter of patients to pharmacology studies nationally. Our researchers have led a number of international and national studies. Between 2009 and 2014, we delivered 14 phase I and II studies in paediatric oncology, and we aim to provide our patients with the opportunity to be considered for all national clinical trials, as well as to provide additional early phase trial opportunities for children from Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield.

Our recruitment figures to early and late phase trials, and to pharmacology and biological studies, are amongst the best in the UK; we achieve the target number of patients required for early phase studies and give our patients the opportunity to benefit from the cutting edge treatments available through research. Estimated patient cohort: 120 new patients per year with malignant disease. Our patient population is mostly acute leukaemia and brain tumous (as is usual in childhood cancer), and we have particular expertise in neuroblastoma (nerve cell), leukaemia (blood), sarcomas (connective tissue), and brain tumours.

The Christie, in partnership with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, is building the UK’s first proton beam therapy service, due to open in 2018. This will provide proton beam therapy to children and young people from the whole of the North of the UK.

We are currently running a number of studies and trials in the following areas:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
• Neuroblastoma
• Kidney tumours
• Ewing’s sarcoma
• Rhabdomyosarcoma & other soft tissue sarcomas
• Hodgkin’s disease
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Intracranial germ cell tumours