A trial looking at dasatinib for children and young people whose leukaemia has not responded or has come back after treatment (CA180018)

This trial looked at dasatinib for children, teenagers and young people with leukaemia which had not responded to or had come back after treatment.

The trial was for children and young people up to and including the age of 20. We use the term ‘you’ in this summary, but of course if you are a parent, we are referring to your child.

Dasatinib is a type of biological therapy. It aims to block the signal which tells leukaemia cells to grow. In some people, the leukaemia cells have an abnormal chromosome called the Philadelphia chromosome. This is called Philadelphia positive leukaemia.

When this trial was done, research had shown that dasatinib could help adults with either chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) or Philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The effects of dasatinib had not been looked at in children, or in people with Philadelphia negative acute leukaemia.

The aim of this trial was to find out

• The best dose of dasatinib for children and teenagers

• What side effects dasatinib causes in children and teenagers

• How well this treatment works for different types of leukaemia