An international cancer trial, which is seeking a cure for leukaemia, has opened in Ireland.

The Irish arm of the trial is open to patients in hospitals in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Galway. It is expected that up to 60 patients with a type of leukaemia called chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) will participate.

CLL is the most common type of leukaemia found in the Western World. It affects the blood, lymph glands and bone marrow and most cases occur in people over the age of 55. Around 200 people in Ireland are diagnosed every year with the disease.

The trial aims to test treatments for the disease that could be more effective and have fewer side-effects than standard chemotherapy treatment. It will open in St James's Hospital, Beaumont and the Mater in Dublin, as well as Cork University Hospital, Waterford University Hospital and University Hospital Galway.

The trial is being led internationally by the German CLL Study Group (GCLLSG), which is the world's leading authority on CLL research. The Irish arm will be coordinated by Cancer Trials Ireland.

Cancer Trials Ireland is currently involved in more than 150 trials in 16 hospitals nationwide, involving more than 6,000 patients.

"Chemoimmunotherapy is the standard first-line treatment for patients with CLL and with it many patients can achieve good remissions. Unfortunately it can be too toxic for some patients because they can be less fit and unable to tolerate intensive regimens. So there is a pressing need for alternative chemotherapy-free treatments," explained Prof Patrick Thornton, a consultant haematologist at Beaumont Hospital and chief investigator for the CLL trial in Ireland.

He said that the trial will test a number of oral non-chemotherapy treatments and new antibodies, which have already been proven to be effective as second-line treatments with few side-effects. Second-line treatments are given when first-line treatments do not work.

"We'll determine which treatment is more effective and has fewer side-effects than the standard chemoimmunotherapy.

"This is a very significant trial because of the positive results the treatments we'll be comparing have already achieved and its size, in terms of the number of countries, research units and patients participating. I'm confident it will deliver a new standard of care," Prof Thornton said.

Almost 1,000 patients from 160 research units in 10 different countries will participate in this trial for up to five years. Other countries involved include Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.

"To be invited to open a trial of this significance in Ireland is a great vote of confidence in Ireland's cancer trials research community and our ability to contribute to the global effort to find answers to cancer.

"Not only does it help us contribute our expertise to finding better treatments, it enables our patients to access promising treatments at no cost, which they would otherwise not be able to access for many years," Prof Thornton added.

To find out more about this and other cancer trials in Ireland, click here, and talk to your doctor/cancer trials research team in your hospital.