News — Arlington Heights, Ill., April 28, 2025 -- The Society for Clinical Trials (SCT) is pleased to announce that the prestigious David Sackett Trial of the Year Award will be presented to “Blinatumomab in Childhood Standard-Risk B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
The award will be presented on May 20, 2025, as part of SCT’s 46th Annual Meeting, “Shaping the Future: The Right Questions, Robust Answers,” May 18 - 21, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Accepting the award and presenting the trial will be Sumit Gupta, MD, PhD, pediatric oncologist and clinician investigator at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Since 2008, SCT has awarded the David Sackett Trial of the Year Award to a randomized, controlled trial published in the previous calendar year that best fulfills the following standards:
- Improves the lot of humankind.
- Provides the basis for a substantial, beneficial change in health care.
- Reflects expertise in subject matter, excellence in methodology, and concern for study participants.
- Overcame obstacles in implementation.
- The presentation of its design, execution, and results is a model of clarity and intellectual soundness.
- The peer reviewed trial publication date (be that on paper or electronic) must be within the 2024 calendar year.
- The trial must be tied to a single publication (or a set of papers published simultaneously in a single journal).
Blinatumomab in Childhood Standard-Risk B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia was a RCT conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group across over 220 centres in four countries. Children with standard risk B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, who were at higher risk of relapse were randomized to receive either standard chemotherapy or standard chemotherapy plus two non-sequential cycles of the immunotherapeutic agent blinatumomab.
The trial was stopped at the first pre-planned interim efficacy analysis, when 1,440 children had undergone randomization. Children who received chemotherapy had a 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) of 87.9% while those who received chemotherapy and blinatumomab had a 3-year DFS of 96.0%. The regimens incorporating blinatumomab established by AALL1731 represent the new standard treatment for most children with B-ALL.
“This year’s nomination pool was diverse, with trials spanning oncology, public health, and AI-guided tools, reflecting the breadth and innovation in today’s clinical research. The competition among finalists was especially close, but after careful review, the B-cell ALL trial stood out,” says Jessica Overbey, Chair of the SCT David Sackett Trial of the Year Committee. “We look forward to hearing more about the trial’s design and impact from Dr. Gupta at the meeting and anticipate a lively discussion afterward.”
Nominations for the David Sackett Trial of the Year are submitted by Society members, investigators, and interested scholars from around the world. The 2024 David Sackett Trial of the Year Committee included: Jessica Overbey (chair), Jonathan Cook (co-chair), Andrew Cook (past chair), Karla V. Ballman, Tracy Bergemann, Lori Dodd, Sonia Jain, Yan Lin, Theodore Lystig, Sameer Parpia, Giorgio Paulon, and Larisa G. Tereshchenko. Dr. David L. Sackett was a dedicated long-time SCT member, a pioneer in evidence-based medicine and champion of clinical trials.
The SCT will issue a call for 2025 David Sackett Trial of the Year nominations later this year. Additional information and a list of past David Sackett Trial of the Year recipients is available at: .
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About the Society for Clinical Trials: The Society for Clinical Trials, created in 1978, is an international professional organization dedicated to the development and dissemination of knowledge about the design, conduct, analyses, and reporting of government and industry-sponsored clinical trials and related health care research methodologies. Visit .
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