Understanding clinical trials in Australia

Professor Paula Marlton, Head of Leukaemia and Deputy Director of Haematology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital provides the latest information about clinical trials and the Leukaemia Foundation's Trials Enabling Program.
In 2015 the Leukaemia Foundation established a Trials Enabling Program (TEP) to help Australians living with blood cancer access the latest research and treatments through international clinical trials, without leaving the country.
Partnering with the nation’s leading blood cancer clinical trial group the Australasian Leukaemia & Lymphoma Group (ALLG), this innovative program has helped many Australians access new clinical trials and novel therapies, years ahead of their expected availability on the Australian market.
Under TEP, two new trials have now successfully launched at hospital sites across the country, representing the first studies to occur in Australia in collaboration with the Haemato Oncology Foundation for Adults in the Netherlands (HOVON), and the German-Austrian Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Study Group, Germany (AMLSG).
The trials represent new hope for Australians living with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), with Australia’s participation in the trial expected to help improve access to new therapies for patients with these blood cancers.