Cancer patients in the district could be among the first in the country to trial a pioneering treatment for a rare form of the disease.

Nexus Biomed, which specialises in phase one and two cancer trials, is appealing to patients who suffer from a specific type of cancer to test a new targeted antibody therapy being trialled in West Yorkshire.

Leeds General Infirmary is one of just seven cancer centres in the UK where the antibody will be tested on patients with Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) - a rare blood cancer - for the first time outside the United States. Nexus Biomed is appealing to patients in the Bradford district, some of whom will already travel to Leeds for cancer treatment. Project manager Gordon Thomson said: "Leeds is the nearest cancer centre so we would welcome patients from Bradford. We do not have a problem with patients being referred to other hospitals. We welcome it because it means everyone has a chance of getting the drug.

"Anaplastic large cell lymphoma is a particularly severe form of cancer but luckily, one which is relatively rare.

"But because it is rare, it's pretty difficult to find everyone who might just benefit from the new targeted antibody.

"Sufferers are likely to have already been treated with a very specific chemotherapy and perhaps also to have had, or be waiting for, a bone marrow transplant."

The antibody has already been through phase one clinical trials during which it was tested on a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range and identify side effects.

Mr Thomson said: "There are indications from work in the US that the targeted antibody offers another solution in terms of a possible reprieve from the disease. In the studies conducted in patients who have already failed to respond to previous treatments, preliminary results have shown that the drug can shrink the tumour. This needs to be confirmed in a larger group of patients and additional data on safety must be collected. We are looking for as many people as we can get because it's such a rare occurrence."

The trials will involve patients visiting hospital on a weekly basis for about two or three months. Leeds General Infirmary joins six other cancer centres in the UK in Birmingham, Manchester, Southampton, Glasgow, Newcastle and Leicester. For details, visit www.alcl.com.