Research Project: Improve treatment for patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

This study will investigate potential markers of disease in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) that may be associated with prognosis and explore how they may affect responses to treatment.

A wide range of gene mutations affect the progression of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Despite the excellent prognosis in children and young adults, the situation for those patients older than 25 years is more challenging. There is a need to improve the way we predict individual patients’ prognosis in order to optimize treatment and get the best possible outcomes.

Predicting prognosis in ALL: ALL is a rare disease most often seen in children. For patients aged 24 years or less the prognosis is good. However, in adults over 25 years old the situation is more serious as increasing age is associated with poorer prognosis. There is a need to better understand ALL in adult patients in order to avoid over- or under-treatment, and to ensure rapid identification and appropriate management of people most likely to have a poor prognosis.

The aim of this study is to gain a detailed knowledge of the incidence of gene mutations in adult patients with ALL and how they may function as markers of disease. Collecting data from a large number of patients with ALL will allow doctors to examine these markers of disease and to consider how they might affect patient outcomes. Data from several clinical trials will be combined, allowing us to look at potential links between markers of disease and outcomes from different treatment strategies. In addition, this study will aim to further improve the identification of those children with ALL who could be treated with less intensive chemotherapy. The project will also assist doctors in developing more personalized treatments and help them to better predict the likely outcome for patients if they receive a particular medicine.

What will be the impact?

By identifying potential markers of disease status, it should be possible to improve management of patients with ALL by providing a personalized treatment approach.

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Public-private partnership for Big Data in Hematology

HARMONY and HARMONY PLUS are funded through the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), Europe's largest public-private initiative aiming to speed up the development of better and safer medicines for patients. Funding is received from the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking and is listed under grant agreement for HARMONY No. 116026 and grant agreement for HARMONY PLUS No. 945406. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).