Outcomes and endpoints in clinical trials supporting the marketing authorisation of treatments in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Abstract

The improvement in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treatment has led research efforts to focus on the unmet medical needs of an increasingly smaller patient cohort with resistant leukaemia and to develop more-targeted agents. Survival and response rates remain the most-prevalent endpoints in paediatric ALL research, but other intermediate clinical endpoints and molecular biomarkers for efficacy and mid- and long-term safety endpoints are also being investigated. The success of current ALL treatment appears to be driving new paradigms to optimise clinical drug development, while at the same time, regulatory tools in place are supporting meaningful drug development in the area.

Keywords: Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia; Clinical drug development; Clinical trials; EU regulation; Endpoints in oncology.