In response to an email, I received the following reply from the organisers of FLAIR with permission to share this in the online patient forums. I will include the full text below which ends with a list of the hospitals where FLAIR is currently running.
But first a few bullet points from me
* We now have a complete list of FLAIR sites. In my view these sites will all be at least to some degree expert in CLL. If you are wanting to be seen by a CLL expert for a second opinion (which can be organised by your GP or existing specialist), you may want to consider the list below, even if you are not interested in volunteering for FLAIR.
*This study is a LARGE study and they need a lot of volunteers to help answer the question which of these treatments is best for first line patients.
*They originally set up the study with two arms, then added two more. Now they are close to completing the number of patients needed for one of the arms and so that one will drop.
*There is NO indication that arm is worse than the others either in efficacy or safety at the moment and patients already in the arm or about to enter into it needn't be concerned.
*Essentially doctors in the UK still feel they don't know for sure which arm is best for first line treatment and so the study continues to enrol to try and get the answers to that question.
More information on the FLAIR trial as it is currently set up can be found here:
cancerresearchuk.org/about-...
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Email received this morning from organisers
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We are due to close the ibrutinib + rituximab arm in the very near future. This will leave an equal chance of randomisation between FCR, ibrutinib alone (I) and ibrutinib + venetoclax (I+V).
To provide a bit of background, the trial began as a comparison between FCR and IR in September 2014. In July 2017 we adapted the trial to add in the I and I+V arms. We have now recruited the number of patients we need to assess the original comparison of FCR + IR.
We had planned to continue either IR or I into the final stage of the trial alongside FCR and I+V. The decision was made (and ratified by the independent oversight committees) that ‘I’ was the most appropriate comparator going forward. This does not mean that IR is an inferior treatment, as we will need to wait until the FLAIR results are out before we will know this.
I have provided a list of sites below that are currently open to FLAIR. It’s fine for you to share this information.
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LIST OF FLAIR SITES
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Royal Marsden Hospital
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
QE Hospital Birmingham
Cheltenham General Hospital
South Tees – James Cook
Addenbrooke's Hospital
Castle Hill Hospital
Christie Hospital
Diana Princess of Wales
Kettering General Hospital
Leicester Royal Infirmary
Northampton General Hospital
Nottingham University Hospital
Calderdale Royal Hospital
Royal Liverpool Hospital
Scunthorpe General Hospital
St James's Hospital
Buckinghamshire
University College London Hospital
West Middlesex University Hospital
York Hospital
QE Hospital Gateshead
Bradford Royal Infirmary
Harrogate District Hospital
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary
Manchester Royal Infirmary
Blackpool Victoria Hospital
Countess of Chester Hospital
University Hospital Aintree
Doncaster Royal Infirmary
Grantham and District
King's Mill Hospital
Lincoln County Hospital
Pilgrim Hospital Boston
Royal Hallamshire Hospital
Rotherham General
Birmingham Heartlands Hospital
Good Hope Hospital
Sandwell General Hospital
Hampshire Hospitals
(Royal Hampshire County Hospital)
Poole Hospital
Queen Alexandra, Portsmouth
Royal United Hospital Bath
Royal Bournemouth
Salisbury District Hospital
Southampton General Hospital
Derriford Hospital, Plymouth
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Royal Cornwall Hospital
Torbay District General Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital
Worthing Hospital
Royal Surrey County Hospital
Ipswich Hospital
Churchill Hospital
St George's Hospital
Croydon University Hospital
King's College Hospital
Royal Derby Hospital
University Hospital South Manchester
Russells Hall Hospital
University Hospitals of North Midlands
George Elliot Hospital
James Paget University Hospital
Colchester General Hospital
Epsom and St Helier Hospital
St Richard's Hospital
Bristol Haematology & Onc
Basildon Hospital
Watford General Hospital
Musgrove Park Hospital
Milton Keynes Hospital
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals
Singleton Hospital
Ysbyty Gwynedd
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff
Glan Clwyd Hospital
Raigmore Hospital
Wrexham Maelor Hospital
Royal Gwent Hospital
Western General Hospital
Beatson Oncology Centre
Princess Royal University Hospital
Nevill Hall Hospital
Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy
Borders General Hospital
NHS Lanarkshire
Salford Royal Hospital
Royal Alexandra Hospital Paisley
Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline
Belfast City Hospital
Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Craigavon Area Hospital
University Hospital Coventry
Altnagelvin Hospital
Queen's Hospital Romford
Peterborough City Hospital
New Victoria Hospital Glasgow
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