A clinical trial that has spent 12 years improving the lives of patients with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer has been recognised for its international impact. 

The ENRICH study has received an award at the European Haematology Association Congress, held in Stockholm, for Best European Research. The award celebrates more than a decade of work transforming care for patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

The work is led by Dr David Lewis, University Hospitals Plymouth Consultant Haematologist, and managed by Peninsula Clinical Trial Unit (PenCTU) at the University of Plymouth. A landmark study, supported by Cancer Research UK and Janssen, ENRICH recently published a paper in The Lancet demonstrating that a targeted, chemotherapy-free treatment approach can deliver better outcomes for older patients with MCL.

The phase 2/3 trial explored whether a combination of ibrutinib, a cancer growth-blocking tablet, and rituximab, an antibody therapy, could improve outcomes compared with standard chemotherapy treatments. For many older patients, intensive chemotherapy is not suitable due to its significant side effects, creating an urgent need for more effective and better tolerated alternatives.

The study recruited 400 patients aged 60 and over, from centres across the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either standard chemotherapy plus rituximab or the targeted combination of ibrutinib and rituximab. Researchers also incorporated quality-of-life assessments and minimal residual disease monitoring to better understand treatment responses and future patient needs.

Results from the trial show that the combination of ibrutinib and rituximab is superior to standard chemotherapy treatment, with particularly strong benefits seen compared with R-CHOP chemotherapy. The targeted treatment was also shown to perform at least as well as R-bendamustine chemotherapy, offering patients a highly effective alternative without the burden of traditional chemotherapy.

Beyond the clinical findings, the impact on patients has been significant. Since the study began, ibrutinib has changed lives, offering many people the opportunity to manage their disease with a tablet-based treatment rather than undergoing intensive chemotherapy.