Galway Bay fm newsroom - NUI Galway is to lead a global clinical trial to improve health outcomes for patients with an extremely rare form of blood cancer.
Researchers at UHG and the Advanced Therapies and Cancer Group at NUI Galway are conducting a clinical trial of a new drug which aims to improve survival rates for those suffering from mantle cell lymphoma.
MCL is a rare and aggressive type of non-hodgkins lymphoma which affects about 7 percent of all patients diagnosed with the disease.
Just a handful of people in Ireland are diagnosed every year.
UHG is one of 150 sites globally to take part in the clinical trial, with an estimated 500 voluntary participants to be recruited around the world over the next seven years.
The trial will see a new experimental drug paired with existing drugs to enhance treatment and hopefully prolong survival rates.
Lead researcher Dr Amjad Hayat says at present, MCL has poor prognosis, with average survival rates of just three years following diagnosis.
He says this is largely because the current treatment is extremely intensive and many older people cannot undergo it.
