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Trial of Anti-CD19 and Anti-CD20 Bicistronic Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells for Treating B-Cell Malignancies

Phase 1
Active, not recruiting
Conditions
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Lymphoma, B-Cell
Interventions
Biological: Anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 bicistronic CAR T- cells
Registration Number
NCT05797233
Lead Sponsor
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Brief Summary

Background:

About 23,000 people die from B-cell cancers in the US each year. These cancers, often called leukemia or lymphoma, affect a type of white blood cell called B cells. These cancers are difficult to treat, and the therapies used can have bad side effects. Researchers want to try a new type of treatment. This new treatment uses a patient s own immune cells (T cells) that are modified to carry genes (chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR T cells) to kill cancer cells.

Objective:

To test a treatment using CAR T cells in people with B-cell cancers.

Eligibility:

People aged 18 to 75 years with a B-cell cancer that has not been controlled with standard therapies.

Design:

Participants will be screened. They will have:

Blood and urine tests.

A needle will be inserted to draw a sample of tissue from inside the hip bone.

For some patients, a needle will be inserted into their lower back to get a sample of the fluid around their spinal cord.

A tumor biopsy might be needed.

Imaging scans.

Tests of their heart function.

Participants will undergo apheresis: Blood will be drawn from a needle in an arm. The blood will pass through a machine that separates out the T cells. The remaining blood will be returned to the body through a second needle.

Participants will receive 2 chemotherapy drugs once a day for 3 days.

Participants will be admitted to the hospital for at least 9 days. Their T cells, now modified, will be infused back into their bloodstream through a tube placed in a large vein.

Follow-up visits will continue for 5 years, but patients will need to stay in touch with the CAR treatment team for 15 year.

Detailed Description

Background:

* Improved treatments for a variety of treatment-resistant malignancies including B-cell lymphomas, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are needed.

* A particular need is development of new treatments for chemotherapy-refractory B- cell malignancies.

* T- cells can be genetically modified to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that specifically target malignancy-associated antigens.

* Autologous T- cells genetically modified to express CARs targeting the B-cell antigen CD19 have caused complete remissions in patients with leukemia or lymphoma. These results have established anti-CD19 CAR T- cells as an important therapy for relapsed lymphoma, but only about 40% of patients receiving anti-CD19 CAR T- cells have durable complete remissions.

* Most B-cell malignancies express CD19 and CD20, but expression of CD19 and CD20 can be lost or diminished.

* CD19 and CD20 are not expressed by normal cells except for B cells and some plasma cells.

* We have constructed a novel gene therapy construct that encodes a fully-human anti- CD19 CAR with a CD28 domain and a fully-human anti-CD20 CAR with a 4-1BB domain.

* T -cells expressing this CAR construct, called Hu1928-Hu20BB-Long, can specifically recognize CD19 and CD20-expressing target cells in vitro and eradicate CD19 or CD20-expressing tumors in mice.

* One CAR expressed in this CAR construct, Hu19-CD828Z has been tested in humans before. The other CAR in the total construct, Hu20-CD8BBZ-Long, has not been tested in humans before.

* Possible toxicities include cytokine-associated toxicities such as fever, hypotension, and neurological toxicities. Elimination of normal B cells is probable, and unknown toxicities are also possible.

Objective:

- Determine the safety of administering T-cells expressing a novel fully-human anti- CD19 and anti-CD20 CAR construct to participant with advanced B-cell malignancies.

Eligibility:

* Participant must have any B-cell lymphoma, or CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), or Gray-zone lymphoma. Lower grade lymphomas transformed to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are potentially eligible.

* Age \>= 18 years of age and \<=75 years of age at time of enrollment

* Participant must have malignancy that is measurable on a CT scan or by flow cytometry of bone marrow or blood.

* Participant must have a creatinine of 1.5 mg/dL or less and a normal cardiac ejection fraction.

* An ECOG performance status of 0-1 is required.

* No active infections are allowed including hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

* Absolute neutrophil count \>=1000/microL, platelet count \>=50,000/microL, hemoglobin \>=8g/dL

* Serum ALT and AST less or equal to 3 times the upper limit of the institutional normal unless liver involvement by malignancy is demonstrated.

* At least 14 days must elapse between the time of any prior systemic treatment (including corticosteroids) and protocol-required leukapheresis or CAR T-cell infusion. In addition, sixty days must elapse from therapy with antibodies targeting CD19 or CD20 and CAR T-cell infusion, and at least 180 days must elapse since any prior CAR T-cell therapy or checkpoint therapy.

* The participant s malignancy will need to be assessed for CD19 and C20 expression by flow cytometry or immunohistochemistry performed at the NIH. If unstained, paraffin- embedded bone marrow or lymphoma tissue sections are available from prior biopsies, these can be used to determine CD19 and CD20 expression by immunohistochemistry; otherwise, Participant will need to come to the NIH for a biopsy to determine CD19 and CD20 expression. The sample for CD19 and CD20 expression must come from a biopsy obtained after any CD19 or CD20-targeted therapies such as monoclonal antibodies if such antibodies or CAR T-cell therapies have been received by the Participant.

* Either CD19 or CD20 expression must be uniform . Uniform CD19 or CD20 expression is defined as no obvious lymphoma population lacking antigen expression can be present.

Design:

* This is a phase I dose-escalation trial

* T-cells obtained by leukapheresis will be genetically modified to express the Hu1928- Hu20BB-Long CAR construct.

* Participants will receive a lymphocyte-depleting chemotherapy conditioning regimen with the intent of enhancing the activity of the infused CAR-expressing T- cells.

* The chemotherapy conditioning regimen is cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m\^2 daily for 3 days and fludarabine 30 mg/m\^2 daily for 3 days. Fludarabine will be given on the same days as the cyclophosphamide.

* Three days after the chemotherapy ends, participants will receive an infusion of anti- CAR- expressing T- cells .

* The initial dose level of this dose-escalation trial will be 0.66x10\^6 CAR+ T- cells/kg of recipient bodyweight.

* The cell dose administered will be escalated until a maximum tolerated dose is determined.

* Following the T-cell infusion, there is a mandatory 9-day inpatient hospitalization to monitor for toxicity.

* Outpatient follow-up is planned for 2 weeks, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months after the CAR T-cell infusion; less frequent follow-up is required more than 1 year after infusion. Long-term gene-therapy follow-up for a total of 15 years after infusion is required.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
58
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SEQUENTIAL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
2/Conditioning chemotherapy plus CAR T-cells expansion phaseFludarabineMTD dose or Optimal dose of Anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 CAR T- cells/kg + conditioning chemotherapy
1/Conditioning chemotherapy plus CAR T-cells dose escalationAnti-CD19 and anti-CD20 bicistronic CAR T- cellsEscalating dose of anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 CAR T- cells/kg + conditioning chemotherapy
1/Conditioning chemotherapy plus CAR T-cells dose escalationFludarabineEscalating dose of anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 CAR T- cells/kg + conditioning chemotherapy
1/Conditioning chemotherapy plus CAR T-cells dose escalationCyclophosphamideEscalating dose of anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 CAR T- cells/kg + conditioning chemotherapy
2/Conditioning chemotherapy plus CAR T-cells expansion phaseAnti-CD19 and anti-CD20 bicistronic CAR T- cellsMTD dose or Optimal dose of Anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 CAR T- cells/kg + conditioning chemotherapy
2/Conditioning chemotherapy plus CAR T-cells expansion phaseCyclophosphamideMTD dose or Optimal dose of Anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 CAR T- cells/kg + conditioning chemotherapy
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Determine the safety and feasibility of administering T cells expressing a novel fully-human anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 CAR construct to patients with advanced B-cell malignancies.From time of lymphodepleting regimen through 30 days after the last CAR T infusion.

Adverse Events (AE) by type and grade of toxicity

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Assess overall response rateup to 5 years

Overall Response rate (ORR= CR + PR) will be recorded if ORR occurs at any response assessment time-point.

Assess complete response rateup to 5 years

Complete Response rate (CR) in participants who receive subsequent infusion, up to 5 years after entry date for last participant

Assess duration of responsesup to 5 years

Duration of response from date of response will be measured for no more than 5 years after the last participant has been enrolled on the trial.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

🇺🇸

Bethesda, Maryland, United States

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