Participating in a clinical trial for leukemia or lymphoma can give your child access to lifesaving new treatments. Learn more and see what trials are underway.

Survival rates for childhood blood cancers have significantly increased over the past few decades. For many children, leukemia and lymphoma are now curable diseases. These advances are usually the result of clinical trials for new treatments.

At Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, patients have the opportunity to participate in numerous clinical trials. These trials can give your child access to groundbreaking therapies close to home.

• As a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine, based in Baltimore, we can offer patients greater access to early (Phase 1 and 2) clinical trials. Our patients can take part in any trial ongoing at Johns Hopkins without leaving Florida’s west coast.
• We are a designated Children’s Oncology Group (COG) center. This allows our patients to participate in numerous clinical trials. COG is the largest pediatric clinical trials group in the world.
• The Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute is a non-core member of the Pediatric Early Phase Clinical Trials Network (PEP-CTN). PEP-CTN is a program of the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute. The program’s purpose is to conduct early-phase clinical trials in children with cancer. By participating with other PEP-CTN member institutions, we’re able to share expertise and help pioneer new leukemia and lymphoma therapies.

What Is a Clinical Trial?

Clinical trials help researchers and doctors evaluate the effectiveness of specific treatment options. The standard of care for most children diagnosed with cancer is to include them in a clinical trial.

Depending on which part of a study your child is in, he or she may receive a typically used treatment or a developing therapy.

A clinical trial outlines a specific treatment plan. Each clinical trial has a protocol (set of rules) that explains how it will work. The protocol must be approved by the organization sponsoring the study.