Leukaemia is the most common cancer affecting children and young people, impacting around 700 families in the UK each year. Nearly 100 of these children are diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), an aggressive form of the disease that can stop responding to treatment.

While most children with T-ALL will be cured, sadly some don’t respond to treatment or find their cancer returns. There are very limited options for those with drug-resistant or relapsed T-ALL, and these children often lose their lives.

In 2018, Action awarded funding of more than £200,000 to Dr Frederik van Delft and his team, based in Newcastle and Glasgow. They were investigating whether combining two existing drugs could overcome treatment resistance and kill T-ALL cancer cells.

With Action’s support, the team were able to confirm that their drug combination was more effective than either drug used alone. 

As part of the project, the team also developed a new laboratory system to test how different drug combinations affect leukaemia cells taken from patients. This means researchers can focus more quickly on the most promising treatments – helping to speed up progress towards better outcomes for children.

Excitingly, based on this research, and similar results from other research groups, a new drug combination is now being included in an international trial. Five hospitals across the UK will take part in delivering this trial, due to start in 2026.