Clinical trials

In this clinical trial, the investigators aim to apply CD62L depleted donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) together with in vitro T cell depleted haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to treat patients with malignant or non-malignant disease in need of HSCT. The investigators shall evaluate the graft failure-free, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free survival at one year, frequency of adverse events and post-transplant complications, and immunoreconstitution.

This is a single-arm clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of quadruple immunotherapy with natural killer (NK) cells, anti-GD2 antibody, cytokines (interleukin-2 (IL-2) and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF)) and retinoid X receptor gamma (RXRg) agonist spironolactone for paediatric patients with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma.

In this comparative study, the investigators aim to compare prospective pediatric patients who receive total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) using tomotherapy with age- and disease-matched controls who receive conventional total body irradiation (TBI) as part of conditioning for haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for both malignant and non-malignant diseases. The investigators shall evaluate graft failure-free, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free survival, overall survival, frequency of rejection, GVHD, relapse of malignancy, adverse effects and post-transplant immunoreconstitution.

This study seeks to examine the efficacy and safety of the administration of autologous T cells that have been modified through the introduction of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting the B cell surface antigen CD19 following administration of chemotherapy lymphodepletion regimen in children with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or lymphoma. The overall goal of this study is to validate the safety profile of administration CD19-CAR T cells and describe the response rate in children with relapsed/refractory ALL or lymphoma.

Background: Retrospective studies and meta-analyses have shown a reduction in 5-year survival following inhalational based compared to propofol based total intravenous (TIVA) anaesthesia for cancer surgery. To date there have been no prospective trials published which evaluate the effect of anaesthetic technique on circulating tumour cells (CTC), oxidative stress, and recurrence rate following cancer surgery. Children with cancer often require surgery for tumour excision as well as for other diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. To date there has been no prospective randomized controlled trial evaluating the optimal anaesthetic technique for surgery on children with cancer. Aim: This is a pilot study in paediatric patients who require surgery for tumour excision. The aim is to investigate the effect of sevoflurane inhalational versus propofol intravenous anaesthesia on expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), circulating tumour cells, DNA damage and biomarkers of immunity and inflammation in patients before and after tumour surgery. The patients will be followed up for up to 5 years for tumour recurrence after surgery. Method: This will be a single-blinded randomized controlled trial. One hundred children undergoing tumour excision surgery at the Hong Kong Children's Hospital will be recruited and randomized to receive TIVA or inhalational anaesthesia. Baseline, intraoperative and postoperative blood will be taken for tests of immunity and inflammatory markers, DNA damage and circulating tumour cells. Patients would be followed up to 3 years for tumour recurrence and survival.