How treatments affect people recently diagnosed with follicular lymphoma. A study over time

ISRCTN ISRCTN80351925
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN80351925
IRAS number 221775
Secondary identifying numbers CPMS 66722
Submission date
19/09/2025
Registration date
21/10/2025
Last edited
21/10/2025
Recruitment status
Not yet recruiting
Overall study status
Ongoing
Condition category
Cancer
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data
Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
PETReA Plus will enrol all newly diagnosed follicular lymphoma patients receiving any first treatment as part of their normal care. This is an observational study which will collect data during the clinical care of the study participants. Except for Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaires provided as Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), no extra tests or assessments will be carried out over and above standard care. The study aims to collect all the required information during the participants' planned clinic visits, where available.

Who can participate?
Adult patients aged 18 years or older with Grade 1, 2, 3A or 3B follicular lymphoma (FL), or de novo transformed FL, who have had a diagnostic biopsy within the last 6 months, are planned for any first-line treatment or initial watch and wait, and can provide written informed consent.

What does the study involve?
Routinely collected information can be taken from the participant’s medical notes into the case report form once the participant has consented. Data will be collected from the participants before treatment starts, at the end of treatment and during a follow-up period (6 months +/- 2 months). There are no investigational treatments, extra risks or benefits to taking part in the study. Doctors are asked to offer participation in the PETReA Plus study to all patients who are not in the PETReA trial for as long as this remains open and thereafter to all newly diagnosed FL patients, including those participating in another CTIMP/non-CTIMP trial at local PI discretion, as long as this doesn't impact the PETReA Plus study or eligibility/conduct of the other trial. Data from the PETReA Plus study will be collected along with data from the PETReA trial to produce a combined dataset of up to 1500 participants that could provide more information on people with high tumour burden symptomatic FL who normally have a poor chance of survival.

If willing, PETReA Plus participants will also be invited to consent to share their data with the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation Registry, for an international, observational study in follicular lymphoma, which will collect data from previously treated and untreated patients to improve how quickly new treatments are made available and to standardise treatment and care for patients across all clinics and hospitals. If willing, participants can also consent at a later date for the future collection of their routinely collected tumour tissue for future ethically approved research. These would be stored at the UK Blood Cancer Biobank.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no benefits/risks to the participant if they take part in the study.

Where is the study run from?
University of Liverpool, UK.

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
September 2024 to October 2029. The study is expected to begin enrolling participants in November 2025 and will conclude enrollment in February 2028.

Who is funding the study?
1. The Follicular Lymphoma Foundation
2. Blood Cancer UK
3. The Joyce & Norman Freed Charitable Trust

Who is the main contact?
PETReA Plus Trial Manager, petreaplus@liverpool.ac.uk

Study website

Contact information

Dr PETReA Plus Trial Manager
Public, Scientific

PETReA Plus Trial Manager, LCTC, University of Liverpool, Block C Waterhouse Building, 3 Brownlow Street
Liverpool
L69 3GL
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0)151 795 5289
Email petreaplus@liverpool.ac.uk
Prof Kim Linton
Principal Investigator

Chief Investigator, The University of Manchester, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, Wilmslow Road
Manchester
M20 4BX
United Kingdom

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0002-3294-1548
Email kim.linton@manchester.ac.uk

Study information

Study designObservational cohort study
Primary study designObservational
Secondary study designCohort study
Study setting(s)Hospital, Medical and other records
Study typeTreatment
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Scientific titleProspective observational study of treatment & outcomes for patients with newly diagnosed follicular lymphoma
Study acronymPETReA Plus
Study objectivesPrimary Objective
1) To report progression-free survival for FL by stage, grade (1-3A; 3B; transformed), tumour burden (low/high by GELF criteria) and first-line treatment.

Secondary Objective(s)
2) To report other clinical outcomes (treatment response rates by CT or PET-CT, duration of response, time to next treatment and overall survival) for FL by stage, grade (1-3A; 3B; transformed), tumour burden (low/high by GELF criteria) and first-line treatment
3) To describe first-line treatments for FL and associated patient characteristics (age, ECOG, CIRS-G score, etc) and disease characteristics (stage, grade, tumour burden, etc.)
4) To describe second line treatments for relapsed FL as well as associated clinical outcomes(response rates, duration of response, progression free survival, time to next treatment and overall survival), patient and disease characteristics of early treatment failure, defined as PR/SD/PD as best response to first line therapy (+/- consolidation or maintenance) or disease progression within 24 months (POD24) of initiating any first line treatment)
5) To report rates of initiation and completion of maintenance anti-CD20 antibody therapy, reasons for discontinuation and clinical outcomes by number of maintenance cycles
6) To describe the use of PET for initial staging and response assessment in standard care
7) To report the rate of high-grade transformation after first-line treatment in PET-staged FL, as well as clinical outcomes, patient and disease characteristics
8) To report serious adverse events and grade 3 adverse events related to clinical treatment (recorded but not reported in real time)
9) To report the patient experience using quality of life questionnaires
10) To report reasons for ineligibility for the main PETReA trial whilst this remains open to recruitment
Ethics approval(s)

Approved 30/04/2025, East of England- Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee (2 Redman Place, Stratford, London, E20 1JQ, United Kingdom; -; CambridgeEastREC@hra.nhs.uk), ref: 25/EE/0092

Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedMalignant neoplasms, stated or presumed to be primary, of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue
InterventionPETREA Plus will enrol all newly diagnosed follicular lymphoma patients receiving any first treatment as part of their normal care. This is an observational study which will collect data during the clinical care of the study participants. Except for Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaires provided as Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), no extra tests or assessments will be carried out over and above standard care. The study aims to collect all the required information during the participants' planned clinic visits, where available. Routinely collected information can be taken from the participant's medical notes into the case report form once the participant has consented. Data will be collected from the participants before treatment starts, at the end of treatment and during a follow-up period (6 months +/- 2 months). There are no investigational treatments, extra risks or benefits to taking part in the study. Doctors are asked to offer participation in the PETREA Plus study to all patients who are not in the PETREA trial for as long as this remains open and thereafter to all newly diagnosed FL patients, including those participating in another CTIMP/non-CTIMP trial at local PI discretion, as long as this doesn't impact the PETREA Plus study or eligibility/conduct of the other trial.

Data from the PETREA Plus study will be collected along with data from the PETREA trial, to produce a combined dataset of up to 1500 participants that could provide more information on people with high tumour burden symptomatic FL who normally have a poor chance of survival.

If willing, PETREA Plus participants will also be invited to consent to share their data with the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation Registry, for an international, observational study in follicular lymphoma, which will collect data from previously treated and untreated patients to improve how quickly new treatments are made available and to standardise treatment and care for patients across all clinics and hospitals. If willing, participants can also consent at a later date for the future collection of their routinely collected tumour tissue for future ethically approved research. These would be stored at the UK Blood Cancer Biobank.
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureProgression-free survival, measured using data collected from the patients’ medical records, will be assessed from patient consent before the start of first-line active treatment to follow-up every 6 months until death or study end (patients who do not die will be censored at the date they were last known alive)
Secondary outcome measures1. Anatomical response will be measured using CT scan-reported results collected from patient medical records, post-treatment.
2. Metabolic response will be measured using PET CT scan reported results (if performed) collected from patient's medical records, post-treatment.
3. Duration of response for each treatment received will be measured using data collected from patient medical records, from the start of active treatment to follow-up every 6 months until documentation of relapse, progression, high-grade transformation, start date of next line therapy, death or study end (patients who do not die will be censored at the date they were last known alive).
4. Progression-free survival will be measured using data collected from patient medical records, from patient consent prior to start of second-line active treatment to follow-up every 6 months until death or study end (patients who do not die will be censored at the date they were last known alive).
5. Time to next treatment will be measured using data collected from patient medical records, from day 1 of the last cycle of systemic induction therapy (or maintenance therapy if given), or last dose of radiotherapy to next treatment or death (patients who do not die will be censored at the date they were last known alive).
6. Time to next chemotherapy will be measured using data collected from patient medical records, from day 1 of the last cycle of systemic induction therapy (or maintenance therapy if given), or last dose of radiotherapy to next treatment or death (patients who do not die will be censored at the date they were last known alive).
7. Overall survival will be measured using data collected from patient medical records, from the date of diagnosis to the date of death from any cause (patients who do not die will be censored at the date they were last known alive).
8. First-line induction treatment will be measured using data collected from patient medical records at the start of active treatment.
9. Maintenance treatment will be measured using data collected from patient medical records, post-induction and during maintenance.
10. Use of PET-CT will be measured using data collected from patient medical records, at baseline staging and end of induction, consolidation, and maintenance treatment response assessment.
11. High-grade transformation will be measured using CT scan-reported results collected from patient medical records, from baseline data collection to follow-up every 6 months until study end.
12. Serious adverse events and grade 3 related adverse events will be measured using data collected from patient medical records, from the start of treatment to 30 days post-treatment.
13. Quality of life (QoL) will be measured using patient-completed QoL questionnaires (FACT-Lym, EQ-5D-5L, QLQ-C30), at start of treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up every 6 months until study end.
14. Reasons for consent decline and screen failure for PETReA trial will be measured using data collected from patients (if willing) to indicate a reason, during screening/consent discussion.
Overall study start date01/09/2024
Completion date31/10/2029

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
SexBoth
Target number of participantsPlanned Sample Size: 500; UK Sample Size: 500
Key inclusion criteria1. > = 18 years of age at the time of consent
2. Grade 1, 2, 3A or 3B FL, or FL with histologically confirmed/clinically suspected high-grade transformation at initial presentation (de novo transformed FL)
3. Diagnostic biopsy performed within the last 6 months prior to study consent
4. Any first-line treatment planned (radiotherapy, immunotherapy, immunochemotherapy) or patients planned for initial watch and wait (these patients will have baseline data collection initially and further data will be collected if treatment (including rituximab monotherapy) starts within the study period. For patients that have already started watch and wait or treatment they can be enrolled for retrospective data collection as long as they have only received 1-2 cycles of treatment or are within one month of initiating watch and wait/treatment).
5. Able to provide written informed consent
Key exclusion criteria1. Patients enrolled on the PETReA trial. Patients enrolled on another IMP/intervention trial may be included in PETReA Plus as long as they adhere to the inclusion/exclusion of the trial they are enrolled on.
2. Any prior treatment for follicular lymphoma or transformed follicular lymphoma (except steroids)
3. Pregnant or lactating females
4. Any serious medical condition or other reason that would prevent the subject from participating in the study in the opinion of the treating physician or investigator.
Date of first enrolment01/11/2025
Date of final enrolment29/02/2028

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • England
  • Northern Ireland
  • Scotland
  • United Kingdom
  • Wales

Study participating centres

Southampton
Southampton General Hospital
Tremona Road
Southampton
SO16 6YD
United Kingdom
Arrow Park Hospital
Arrowe Park Hospital
Arrowe Park Road
Wirral
CH49 5PE
United Kingdom
Clatterbridge Hospital
Clatterbridge Road
Wirral
CH63 4JY
United Kingdom
Derriford Hospital
Derriford Road
Derriford
Plymouth
PL6 8DH
United Kingdom
Kent and Canterbury Hospital
Ethelbert Road
Canterbury
CT1 3NG
United Kingdom
Northern General Hospital
Northern General Hospital NHS Trust
C Floor, Huntsmnan Building
Herries Road
Sheffield
S5 7AU
United Kingdom
John Radcliffe Hospital
Headley Way
Headington
Oxford
OX3 9DU
United Kingdom
Croydon University Hospital
London Road
Croydon
CR7 7YE
United Kingdom
Forth Valley
Carseview House
The Castle Business Park
Stirling
FK9 4SW
United Kingdom
Poole Hospital
Longfleet Road
Poole
BH15 2JB
United Kingdom
Taunton
Musgrove Park Hospital
Taunton
TA1 5DA
United Kingdom
Leicester Royal Infirmary
Infirmary Square
Leicester
LE1 5WW
United Kingdom
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
250 Euston Road
London
NW1 2PG
United Kingdom
The Royal London Hospital
80 Newark Street
London
E1 2ES
United Kingdom
Betsi Cadwaladr University Lhb
Executive Offices, Ysbyty Gwynedd
Penrhosgarnedd
Bangor
LL57 2PW
United Kingdom
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Colchester Dist General Hospital
Turner Road
Colchester
CO4 5JL
United Kingdom
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
550 Wilmslow Road
Withington
Manchester
M20 4BX
United Kingdom
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Victoria Hospital
Whinney Heys Road
Blackpool
FY3 8NR
United Kingdom
Gartnavel Royal Hospital
1055 Great Western Road
Glasgow
G12 0XH
United Kingdom
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
St Thomas' Hospital
Westminster Bridge Road
London
SE1 7EH
United Kingdom
Belfast City Hospital
51 Lisburn Rd
Belfast
BT9 7AB
United Kingdom
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Mindelsohn Way
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2GW
United Kingdom
Sandwell Health Campus
West Bromwich
B71 4HJ
United Kingdom
Milton Keynes University Hospital
Milton Keynes Hospital
Standing Way
Eaglestone
Milton Keynes
MK6 5LD
United Kingdom
Salford Royal Hospital
Stott Lane
Salford
M6 8HD
United Kingdom
Royal Cornwall Hospital (treliske)
Treliske
Truro
TR1 3LJ
United Kingdom
Russells Hall Hospital
Pensnett Road
Dudley
DY1 2HQ
United Kingdom
Queens Hospital
Belvedere Road
Burton-on-trent
DE13 0RB
United Kingdom
Peterborough City Hospital
Edith Cavell Campus
Bretton Gate
Bretton
Peterborough
PE3 9GZ
United Kingdom
Hinchingbrooke Hospital
Hinchingbrooke Park
Huntingdon
PE29 6NT
United Kingdom
The Royal Oldham Hospital
Rochdale Road
Oldham
OL1 2JH
United Kingdom
Pilgrim Hospital
Sibsey Road
Boston
PE21 9QS
United Kingdom
Lincoln County Hospital
Greetwell Road
Lincoln
LN2 5QY
United Kingdom
Good Hope Hospital
Rectory Road
Sutton Coldfield
B75 7RR
United Kingdom
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Ystwyth Building, St David's Park, Job's Well Road
Carmarthen
SA31 3BB
United Kingdom
West Middlesex University Hospital
Twickenham Road
Isleworth
TW7 6AF
United Kingdom
Queen Alexandra Hospital
Southwick Hill Road
Cosham
Portsmouth
PO6 3LY
United Kingdom
Nottingham City Hospital
Hucknall Road
Nottingham
NG5 1PB
United Kingdom
St Helier Hospital
Wrythe Lane
Carshalton, Surrey
SM5 1AA
United Kingdom
Barnet & Chase Farm Hospitals
127 The Ridgeway
Enfield
EN2 8JL
United Kingdom
University Hospital of Wales
Heath Park
Cardiff
CF14 4XW
United Kingdom
Grantham and District Hospital
101 Manthorpe Road
Grantham
NG31 8DG
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

Funders

Funder type

Charity

The Follicular Lymphoma Foundation

No information available

Blood Cancer UK

No information available

The Joyce & Norman Freed Charitable Trust

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date30/10/2030
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryData sharing statement to be made available at a later date
Publication and dissemination planPlanned publication in a high-impact peer reviewed journal and conference setting.
IPD sharing planThe data sharing plans for the current study are unknown and will be made available at a later date

Editorial Notes

13/10/2025: Study's existence confirmed by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) (UK).