By A new study is underway…
Oxford University Hospitals have today announced that a new study is underway which investigates the impact of COVID-19 on patients who are undergoing chemotherapy to treat Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, known as AML.
The study, named PACE, has been launched by the charity Cure Leukaemia across several sites in the UK with four key goals:
- understand the prevalence of prior COVID-19 infection in AML patients receiving chemotherapy
- understand the health implications of COVID-19 infection for patients with AML
- collect information on the seriousness, type and frequency of all infections in patients with AML
- develop recommendations for the care of patients with AML and additional complications of COVID-19 infection, including those who develop COVID-19 infection during treatment for AML or have recovered from prior COVID-19 infection.
Sadly around 60 people are diagnosed with AML each week across the United Kingdom.
AML is a type of cancer that predominantly affects the elderly, with a peak in cases for those over the age of 70. With AML, a patient’s bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts (a type of white blood cell), red blood cells, or platelets.
This type of cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated
PACE is a non-interventional study, led by Professor Simon Stanworth, Consultant Haematologist for NHS Blood and Transplant at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Professor Stanworth has said:
“This remains a very worrying time for many of us as we try to grapple with the full consequences of COVID19 infection in our patients. The study will help us better understand the problems of infections both in patients developing AML, both with and without COVID19 infection, to improve our knowledge base, develop practical recommendations for clinical teams and as a prelude to research in the future.”
A video explaining more about this research can be viewed here.
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