Researchers at Chinese University said on Wednesday they had found a way to identify children with leukaemia who are more likely to relapse, which could help improve their treatment and increase their chances of recovery.

The research team worked with their counterparts in Shanghai and studied more than 3700 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is the most common cancer in children.

They found that some patients who had a protein called CD9 on the surface of their cancer cells were more likely to relapse and require more aggressive treatment.

One of the researchers, Professor Li Chi-kong, said his team will now start to develop a new treatment plan.

“We hope that we can introduce something which is really effective for this particular group of patients by using the appropriate drugs,” he said.

The researchers urged the government to include testing for CD9 as part of regular screening for all children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, as this will allow doctors to identify those at higher risk of relapse and give them the best possible care.