Advanced Translational Research on Childhood Leukemia

February 1, 2026 updated by: Kathy Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Driving Therapeutic Progress of Childhood Leukemia Through Advanced Translational Research With Immediate and Long-term Impact. Precision Medicine for Childhood Leukemia.

Prognosis of children with leukemia, the most common pediatric cancer, has improved markedly. Yet, relapse still occurs in 15-40% of patients with a probability of survival of <50%, which is unlikely to be boosted by intensification of standard chemotherapy due to overwhelming toxicity. The advent of effective and safe targeted therapies for high-risk cases is therefore imperative. This study constitutes two research projects aiming at driving therapeutic advances.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The first part of the study aimed to investigate genomics and drug sensitivity profiling of childhood leukemia and its potential application for precision medicine.

The second part of the study aimed to develop novel antibody for treatment of childhood leukemia by animal model experiments.

Design:

Project 1: Whole-exome and RNA sequencing will be performed on children with leukemia (ALL, AML, MPAL, JMML, MDS) prospectively recruited in the Hong Kong Children's Hospital. Samples will be screened for their sensitivity to preselected, clinically accessible targeted agents in an ex vivo culture system. Results for the high-risk patients will be subjected to the tumor broad for evaluation.

Project 2: Fully human antibody candidates identified by phage display will be engineered into therapeutic forms, and assessed for efficacy and safety in patient-derived xenografts of relapsed/refractory B-ALL and in transgenic mice. The mechanisms of action will be identified by single-cell RNA sequencing.

Significance:

Implementation of functional genomics could identify leukemia patients who will benefit from targeted therapies and enable tailoring of precision medicine. The invented antibodies could be moved forward into clinical trials for salvaging high-risk pediatric B-ALL. Immediate and long-term impact on therapy of childhood leukemia is foreseen.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
300

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
    • Hksar
      • Hong Kong, Hksar, China
        • Recruiting
        • Hong Kong Children Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

No older than 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Children suspected or diagnosed with leukemia at presentation will be recruited for the study.

Description

List of inclusion criteria:

  1. acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or
  2. acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or

3 .mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) or

4. juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) or

5. myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or

6. normal bone marrow donor

List of exclusion criteria:

  1. This study will not recruit subjects who are unable to understand English or Chinese.
  2. Patient or parent refusal

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Childhood Leukemia
Peripheral blood and bone marrow samples are collected for genetic analysis, invitro drug sensitivity test and animal experiment.
Genetic: RNA-seq
Gene expression and fusion transcripts analysis
Genetic: whole exon sequencing
Genetic alternation analysis
Other: Cytogenetics test
Remission and relapse are monitored by cytogenetic analyses.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Genetic alterations of childhood leukemia
Time Frame: Baseline
Association of mutation data with drug sensitivity profiles and disease-free survival /overall survival are analysed using standard statistical methods.
Baseline
Gene expression profiles of childhood leukemia
Time Frame: Baseline
Global transcriptome and fusion transcripts of leukemic blasts are identified by RNA-sequencing.
Baseline
Drug sensitivity profiles
Time Frame: Baseline
Drug sensitivity results of individual patient blasts-derived ex vivo culture are presented as IC50 and AUC values.
Baseline
Antibody efficacy for treatment of childhood leukemia
Time Frame: Up to 1 year
In vitro biochemical and biological assays and invivo leukemic patient-derived xenografts are used to characterize the efficacy and toxicity of the novel human anitbodies.
Up to 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Chinese University of Hong Kong

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Kam Tong Leung, Ph. D., Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 14, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 15, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 20, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 1, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HKCH-REC-2020-012
  • PAED-2024-082 (Other Identifier: IRB Central)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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