Completed Cancer NIHR-supported project Lungs & Breathing

FOUNDATION UK: A retrospective observational study of outcomes for contemporary therapy in relapsed Follicular Lymphoma

Funder NIHR (part of DHSC)
Recipient organisation NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre
NIHR support Recorded as supported by this research centre
Period Mar 2025 — Jan 2026

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Doctors lack standardised data on how patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma are actually treated in UK hospitals and what happens to them afterwards. Follicular lymphoma is a common, incurable blood cancer that follows a relapsing course. While initial treatment has improved, there is no consensus on what to do when the disease returns. This means clinicians choose therapies without clear evidence, and drug developers struggle to design trials that reflect real-world practice. The FOUNDATION UK study will collect pseudonymised treatment and outcome data from NHS hospitals for patients diagnosed between 2003 and 2018, tracking which drugs are used, in what order, and with what results. If successful, the findings will directly inform clinical guidelines, helping haematologists select the most effective therapies for each patient. The data will also shape the design of future clinical trials and support regulatory approval of new drugs, ensuring they are tested against meaningful benchmarks. This is not fundamental science—it is a practical, observational study that fills a critical evidence gap in routine cancer care.

View original technical description
Follicular lymphoma is a common mature B cell malignancy with a UK incidence of 3.3/100,000 people per year1. Most patients have advanced stage disease that follows a protracted and incurable disease course leading to a high overall disease prevalence. Despite advances in front line management, treatment of relapsed and refractory (r/r) FL has not been standardised and data on treatment patterns and clinical outcomes are lacking, presenting significant challenges for therapy selection and novel drug development to optimise clinical outcomes. FOUNDATION UK is a NCRI-led, multi-centre, non-interventional, retrospective, observational study aimed at collecting clinical outcome data for patients with r/r FL receiving real world contemporary therapies at participating NHS hospitals. The study will collect pseudonymised data for patients with r/r FL following initial diagnosis and treatment for FL between January 2003-December 2018, and will report on current treatment patterns and clinical outcomes by treatment line, regimen and sequence. Results of this unique study will inform clinical treatment decisions, FL management guidelines, prospective trial design, and regulatory approval of novel FL drugs. The study will be conducted at NHS sites in the UK that routinely treat patients with FL. The study will last for two years.

Researchers

Anna Santarsieri (Principal Investigator)

Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

A reterospective observational study of outcomes for contemporary therapy in relapsed Follicular Lymphoma
CRUK/22/007: Relapsed Follicular lymphoma Randomised trial Against standard ChemoTherapy (REFRACT): A randomised phase II trial of investigator choice standard salvage immuno-chemotherapy versus sequential novel therapy experimental arms
International myeloma foundation study of the outcomes of patients with relapsed or high-risk myeloma receiving novel immunotherapies
CRUK/12/017: Watch and Wait - Long term follow-up of "An Intergroup Randomised Trial of Rituximab versus Watch and Wait Strategy in Patients with Advanced Stage, Asymptomatic, Non-Bulky Follicular Lymphoma"
CRUK/18/007 - ALLTogether-1: A Treatment study protocol of the ALLTogether Consortium for children and young adults (1-45 years of age) with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL)

Original classification

Cancer

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