St. Jude Children's Research Hospital’s Post

On Clinical Trials Day, St. Jude recognizes the essential role clinical trials play in advancing care for children with catastrophic diseases.    "Clinical trials at St. Jude are redefining what’s possible for children with cancer by bringing the most promising therapies to patients faster and more precisely than ever before,” said Elizabeth Fox, MD, senior vice president, Clinical Trials Administration. “With our ability to design, test and deploy targeted therapies, we can steal back the years that these children would otherwise lose to these cancers while also protecting their health from the known serious side effects of conventional therapies."    Active studies at St. Jude are addressing childhood cancer, blood disorders, genetic syndromes, infectious diseases, neurological disorders and immune disorders.     Among these studies are several trials aimed at improving care for leukemia and lymphoma. Led by Seth Karol, MD, Department of Oncology, the INITIALL, SJALL23T and SJALL23H trials leverage the biology of these cancers to match treatment strategies to disease features and patient needs.     INITIALL uses genetic testing to inform physicians about a patient’s likely response to treatment and if their patient can be appropriately enrolled on either SJALL23T or SJALL23H. SJALL23T evaluates whether adding targeted agents to standard chemotherapy can improve outcomes, while SJALL23H studies using inotuzumab and blinatumomab to induce remission for high-risk disease.    In addition, St. Jude is conducting many active studies that evaluate patient health or provide interventions that can improve outcomes for children but do not directly treat cancer. These studies can build knowledge that will support future improvements in care, such as gathering genomic information about a disease, tracking how a disease progresses clinically over time or how treatment impacts long-term health.    Giving children access to more effective, precise care depends on clinical trials. Today, we honor patients, families, investigators and research teams whose participation makes this progress possible.    #ClinicalTrialsDay