A major study aimed at identifying precision medicine treatments for myeloid leukaemias has begun enrolling patients.
The US-based 'umbrella study', known as myeloMATCH, is hoping to enrol 5,000 patients to test treatments for adults with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
The project hopes to run the trials, backed by the US National Cancer Institute, in hundreds of cancer care facilities across North America.
The US National Institutes of Health describes the studies as proof-of-concept. It will run a series of studies to identify treatments that will warrant larger clinical trials.
The myeloMATCH team plan to offer patients four tiers of trials, with the fourth tier targeting residual disease, using advanced testing to identify ultra low-level disease.
Dr Mark Litzow, of the Mayo Clinic and co-chair of the project’s senior science council, said: "The activation of the myeloMATCH program represents the culmination of a monumental effort by the National Cancer Institute and the North American cooperative oncology groups to bring precision medicine to the diagnosis and treatment of the challenging myeloid malignancies, acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.
"The increasing understanding of the genetic heterogeneity of these diseases and the development of treatments that target these genetic abnormalities has brought us to this opportunity to more precisely and effectively treat these disorders in a comprehensive manner that focuses on care from diagnosis to cure."
His fellow co-chair Dr Harry Erba, of Duke University School of Medicine, North Carolina, said: "myeloMATCH provides a portfolio of biomarker-driven treatment trials that adult patients newly diagnosed with AML or MDS will enrol to sequentially over their entire treatment journey.
"At each step along that journey, the goal is to continually reduce the patient’s tumour burden, to target residual disease more effectively and ultimately cure more patients of the disease."
Source: SWOG Cancer Research Network/US National Institutes of Health
Link: https://www.swog.org/myelomatch-overview
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