Impact of novel therapies on immunity in patients with blood cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The TIMELY study: Investigating the impact of novel therapies on healthy immunity in patients with haematological malignancy.
IRAS ID
330505
Contact name
Helen Parry
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Patients with blood cancer are at increased risk of disease caused by infection. Over recent years, new treatments for blood cancer have emerged which use the immune system to target cancerous cells. While these therapies have shown great promise in targeting and destroying cancerous cells in the blood stream, they also affect healthy, normal cells which help protect against infection. As our experience of using these new treatments increases, so does our understanding of the infection risk associated with their use.
To prevent infection, vaccinations are used. Vaccinations against organisms including Pneumococcal pneumonia, Varicella Zoster, Influenza and COVID-19 are routinely recommended for patients with blood cancer. However, the protection afforded to patients receiving novel therapies is reduced. By studying the reasons for this, we can improve vaccination strategies.
This study will investigate how new therapies impact on healthy immune cells and vaccine responses. By conducting research in this area, we can understand what type of blood cells are affected by novel therapies available to patients with blood cancer, and how this may contribute to the risk of infection.
The therapies we plan to investigate include blood cancer patients, who are above the age of 18, receiving Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor (BTKi) therapy, B-cell lymphoma 2 inhibitor (BCL2i) therapy, bi- or tri-specific inhibitor, or Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy. We also plan to recruit healthy volunteers from the community and relatives of patients, who are also older than 18, to compare immunity in healthy individuals against blood cancer patients receiving therapy.
The study will be conducted across multiple NHS hospitals, and participants will be asked to provide blood samples at various time points before and following vaccination. We estimate the duration of the study will be 5 years.
REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/PR/0218
Date of REC Opinion
14 Mar 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion