A Phase I Dose Escalation Safety and Feasibility Study of WT1-Specific T Cells for the Treatment of Patients With Advanced Ovarian, Primary Peritoneal, and Fallopian Tube Carcinomas

OBJECTIVES:

• To assess the safety and tolerability of in vitro expanded autologous WT1 specific T cells, when administered alone or in combination with non-myeloablative, immunosuppressive conditioning, in patients with recurrent or persistent, advanced, WT1-positive, ovarian epithelial cancer, primary peritoneal cavity cancer, or fallopian tube cancer.
• To determine the maximum tolerated dose of autologous WT1 specific T cells in these patients.
• To quantitate alterations in the concentration of WT1 specific T cells in the blood at defined intervals post infusion with or without non-myeloablative, immunosuppressive conditioning in order to gain estimates regarding their survival and proliferation.
• To assess the effects of the adoptively transferred T cells on the growth and progression of advanced ovarian epithelial cancer, primary peritoneal cavity cancer, or fallopian tube cancer.

OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of WT1 peptide-specific T cells.

• T-cell generation and isolation: Patients undergo collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBMC) from which T cells are purified, stimulated in vitro with WT1 peptide-pulsed autologous EBV BLCL, and expanded ex vivo.
• Stem cell mobilization and harvest: Patients receive filgrastim (G-CSF) subcutaneously daily for five days. PBMC are collected by leukapheresis on the fifth day and then cryopreserved for subsequent reinfusion into the patient, in the event of prolonged cytopenia.
• Autologous T-cell infusion with or without conditioning chemotherapy ( fludarabine treatment closed as of 12/01/2009): Approximately 4-6 weeks after T-cell sensitization, patients receive an infusion of autologous WT1-specific T cells over 5-10 minutes on day 0. Patients enrolled in dose levels II and III also undergo pre-infusion lymphodepletive conditioning comprising cyclophosphamide IV on day -2 and fludarabine phosphate IV over approximately 30 minutes on days -6 to -2. After a 48-hour rest period, patients receive autologous WT1-specific T cells. Treatment repeats every 14 days for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients with responsive or stable disease after completion of therapy, may receive additional courses of autologous WT1-specific T cells every 14 days.

Blood samples are obtained at baseline and periodically during study and assayed for alterations in circulating levels of WT1 peptide-specific T cells, for biochemical indices of tumor burden, and for radiologic evidence of tumor response. Serum CA125 levels are measured and the number of T cells generating interferon gamma in response to autologous EBV BLCL is quantitated.