New drug clinical trial proves promising in treating juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia

A new study published in Cancer Discovery, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal released by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), has shown promising results from the phase 2 clinical trial of the drug, Trametinib, in treating relapsed or refractory (R/R) juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), WAM reports. 

According to the study, 7 out of the 10 patients had either objective response to treatment or experienced stable disease, with 2 complete responses and 3 partial responses.

The new discovery could prove to be an alternative to the most common JMML treatment, known as “allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation” (HSCT).

JMML is a very rare, aggressive form of childhood leukaemia caused by an overproduction of monocytes and immature white blood cells called blasts.