WA innovation reshaping the treatment of blood cancers
From left to right, Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group Acting Executive Director Renee de Prazer, Clinical Haematologist Professor Chan Cheah, Cheryl , Minister Stephen Dawson, North Metropolitan Health Service Chief Executive Robert Toms standing together.
A clinical trial being led by Clinical Haematologist Professor Chan Cheah at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) is continuing to produce promising results from a new chemotherapy-free approach to treating follicular lymphoma.
The trial is a great demonstration of North Metropolitan Health Service's capability to lead innovative cancer research and focus on expanding treatment options to improve outcomes for patients.
Known as LEVERAGE, the trial is testing a chemotherapy-free treatment approach for people newly diagnosed with advanced follicular lymphoma, the most common type of slow-growing lymphoma in the Western world.
The trial investigated a combination of three medicines - obinutuzumab, venetoclax, and lenalidomide - which work in different ways to target lymphoma and harness the body's immune system.
This phase of the trial involved 50 patients with previously untreated, advanced-stage follicular lymphoma. The results were highly encouraging, with 92 per cent of patients responding to treatment and 86 per cent achieving a complete response, meaning there was no detectable evidence of their lymphoma following treatment.
After a median follow-up of just over 18 months, 92 per cent of patients remained free from disease progression at two years, and overall survival of 100 per cent.
The promising results highlighted WA’s growing role in developing and leading clinical research that could shape the future of blood cancer treatment.
Professor Cheah and the SCGH haematology team lead a growing program of investigator-initiated clinical trials aimed at developing and evaluating new treatments for people with blood cancers.
To find out more on the trial (external site).