At a glance
- What the study gets you
- Access to the study treatment being tested
- Type of study
- Interventional (receives a drug or procedure)
- Time in hospital
- In-person visits at study sites — visit count not specified by the sponsor
- Drug or intervention
- Ruxolitinib (drug), Venetoclax (drug), Dexamethasone (drug), Cyclophosphamide (drug)
- How long the study runs
- Study runs about 76 months (dates as stated)
- About the drug or intervention
- Ruxolitinib — drug: oral · Venetoclax — drug: oral · Dexamethasone — drug: oral/intravenous · Cyclophosphamide — drug: intravenous · Cytarabine — drug: intravenous · intrathecal chemotherapy — drug: IT: Methotrexate +/- prednisone/hydrocortisone/cytarabine according to the degree of central nervous involvement
- Patient visit burden
- Not specified by the sponsor
In plain English
This trial is for children, teenagers and young adults (aged 1 to under 21) whose leukaemia or lymphoma has come back or has not responded to treatment. It tests four medicines together: ruxolitinib, venetoclax, dexamethasone, and the chemotherapy drugs cyclophosphamide and cytarabine. The study is run by the Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology.
Who can take part
- Children aged 1 year and over, and under 21 years old when joining the trial
- The cancer has come back (relapsed) or has not responded to treatment (refractory)
- The cancer has specific changes in certain genes or pathways (called IL-7R and JAK-STAT) — the trial team can explain which changes count
- Previous detailed genetic testing of the disease has been done
- Being well enough day to day (a performance or play score of at least 50%)
- Kidneys, liver and heart working well enough, shown by blood tests and heart scans
- Agreement (consent) from parents or legal guardians, and from the young person where appropriate
Who may not be able to
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or not willing to use very reliable contraception during the trial and for 6 months after treatment ends
- Previous treatment with ruxolitinib and venetoclax together (either drug alone may still be allowed)
- Gene changes known to make ruxolitinib or venetoclax unlikely to work
- Allergy or bad reaction to the study drugs or similar medicines
- Active hepatitis, HIV infection, tuberculosis, or other uncontrolled infection
- Severe gut problems that could stop oral medicines being absorbed properly
- Graft versus host disease after a bone marrow transplant, or taking drugs to prevent it
- Certain medicines and herbal products cannot be taken with the study drugs (the trial team can give the full list)
- Eating grapefruit, Seville oranges (including marmalade) or starfruit within 3 days (72 hours) of the first dose
- Ongoing moderate or severe side effects from earlier cancer treatment, apart from some exceptions
- Not enough time has passed since earlier chemotherapy, radiotherapy, stem cell transplant, immunotherapy (such as CAR-T), antibody treatment or major surgery — the trial team can explain the exact waiting times
- Certain past bone, growth, kidney or brain conditions, or other serious health problems, in some cases
What taking part involves
- • Taking the study medicines ruxolitinib and venetoclax
- • Receiving the steroid dexamethasone
- • Receiving the chemotherapy drugs cyclophosphamide and cytarabine
Time commitment: Not stated — ask the trial team (the data does not say how long treatment lasts or how many hospital visits are needed).
Plain-English summary (AI-generated) from registry data. Not eligibility advice — only the trial team can confirm whether you can take part. Use the eligibility checker to see how your health profile matches this trial.
- Type of study
- Testing a treatment
- Ages
- 1 Year to 21 Years
- Who
- All
- Number of participants
- 26
- Started
- 2025-10-01
- Last checked
- 2025-09
Plain English Summary
What is this study?
- • Testing a new treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in relapse
- • Phase1/Phase2 - 26 participants
- • HEM-iSMART is a master protocol which investigates multiple investigational medicinal products in children, adolescents and young adults (AYA) with relapsed/refractory (R/R) ALL and LBL
Who can take part?
- • Ages 1 Year to 21 Years
- • Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in relapse
Where?
- • Bristol - Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
- • London - Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust
- • Newcastle - Great North Children's Hospital
- • Sutton - Royal Marsden NHS Trust
This is a simplified summary. Always discuss with your doctor before making any decisions.
About This Trial
HEM-iSMART is a master protocol which investigates multiple investigational medicinal products in children, adolescents and young adults (AYA) with relapsed/refractory (R/R) ALL and LBL. Sub-protocol C is a phase I/II trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of ruxolitinib and venetoclax in combination with dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide and cytarabine in children and AYA with R/R ped ALL/LBL whose tumor present with alterations in the IL7R/JAK-STAT pathway.
More detail
HEM-iSMART is a master protocol with sub-protocols. The overarching objective is that introducing targeted therapy using a biomarker driven approach for treatment stratification may improve the outcome of children with R/R acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) It is characterized by a shared framework that allows for the investigation of multiple IMPs and generate pivotal safety and efficacy evidence within the sub-protocols to establish and define the benefits and risks of new treatments for children with R/R leukemia. Sub-Protocol C within HEM-iSMART, is a phase I/II, multicenter, international, open-label clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and efficacy of ruxolitinib with venetoclax in combination with dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide and cytarabine in children, adolescents and young with R/R ALL and LBL. Patients with alterations in the IL-7R and/or JAK-STAT signaling pathways will be eligible for sub-protocol C.
How this trial compares with your answers
Answer 2 more questions to improve match
What we know so far
Still need:
- • Tell us your age for better matching
- • Tell us your sex for better matching
Preliminary match based on your answers. Full eligibility requires on-site assessment including medical history, physical exam, and lab tests. This does not guarantee enrolment.
Eligibility at a Glance
Key info
- Age: 1 Year - 21 Years
- Who can join: All genders
Biomarkers mentioned
What the study is looking for
- ✓Children between 1 year (≥ 12 months) and 18 years of age at the time of first diagnosis and less than 21 years at...
- ✓Performance status: Karnofsky performance status (for patients \>12 years of age) or Lansky Play score (for patients...
- ✓healthy organ:
- ✓kidney AND liver FUNCTION (Assessed within 48 hours prior to C1D1) :
- ✓kidney blood test ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) for age or calculated creatinine clearance as per the Schwartz...
Who cannot take part
- ✗Pregnancy or positive pregnancy test (urine or serum) in females of childbearing potential. Pregnancy test must be...
- ✗Breast feeding.
- ✗Patients whose tumor present known mutationts confering resistance to JAK inhibitors: JAK1 Phe958 and Pro960...
- ✗Known active viral hepatitis or known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or any other uncontrolled infection.
- ✗Severe concomitant disease that does not allow treatment according to the protocol at the investigator's discretion.
See the full criteria
Where Is This Study? (4 UK sites)
Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
Bristol B52 8BJ, United Kingdom
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust
London WC1N 2BH, United Kingdom
Great North Children's Hospital
Newcastle NE1 4LP, United Kingdom
Royal Marsden NHS Trust
Sutton SM2 5PT, United Kingdom
How to Get in Touch
Anne Elsinghorst
Sponsor contactCONTACT
