A global clinical trial to get rid of lymphoma

This project was selected in the framework of our European call: FIGHT KIDS CANCER 2021. It is jointly financed by Imagine for Margo, Kriibskrank Kanner Fondatioun and KickCancer.

It is thanks to your participation in RUN TO KICK 2021 that this innovative project is funded!

Click here to watch Dr. Amos Burke explain this innovative FIGHT KIDS CANCER project.

B-cell Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) is a cancer of the lymphatic system that originates in the B lymphocytes. The lymphatic system plays a key role in our immune system.

“Glo-BNHL” project is aimed at children whose cancer comes back (relapse) or does not respond to standard treatments (refractory).

Despite intensive treatments, the chances of survival for those children are below 30%. Many new treatments have been developed for this type of lymphomas in adults. It is now necessary to identify those that will be most effective in young patients.

In Europe and North America, there are on average only 90 young patients per year who do not respond to standard treatment. Transatlantic collaboration is therefore essential to identify the most effective and least toxic drugs.

The “Glo-BNHL” clinical trial is a global study that aims at evaluating - alone or in combination with existing therapies - the toxicity and efficacy of the most promising new drugs for children to increase the cure rate in these patients.

Given on the one hand the large number of molecules that could be tested in young patients and on the other hand the small number of patients eligible for an experimental clinical trial, only a step-wise approach would ensure the swift evaluation of the most promising treatments. To this end, this programme will create a unique global platform for early clinical trials in relapsed and refractory B-NHL.

The trial will be opened in at least 30 centers in a dozen countries across Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand with the possibility of further expansion. Participants will be divided into 3 treatment arms, each proposing a different new agent.

In addition to the core objectives of improving survival and quality of life, this trial will focus on improving scientific understanding of the biology of paediatric B-NHL, with the aim of identifying mechanisms of resistance that could be targeted by new therapies.

As current standard treatments are very toxic for young patients, the hope is also to identify new, less harmful frontline treatments, while having 'rescue' molecules for children who would relapse.

Last but not least, this platform trial will serve as a reference for other diseases by demonstrating the feasibility of testing multiple new agents in a rare population in a global context using effective novel agent mechanism of action prioritisation.

This clinical study will be available in our neighbouring countries. KickCancer is committed to financing the travel costs for all children treated in Belgium if they wish to join the study.