Cord Blood Derived Anti-CD19 CAR-Engineered NK Cells for B Lymphoid Malignancies

Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Status and phase: Unknown; Phase 1

Conditions: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia; Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia; Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Treatments: Drug: Fludarabine + Cyclophosphamide + CAR-NK-CD19 Cells

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Industry

Identifiers

NCT04796675

CAR-NK-CD19 cells

Details and patient eligibility

About

This is a single-center, open-label, single-arm study to evaluate the primary safety and efficacy of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor(CAR)-modified NK cells(CAR-NK-CD19) in patients with relapsed or refractory hematological malignancies.

Full description

Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has shown remarkable clinical efficacy in B-cell cancers. However, CAR T cells can induce substantial toxic effects, and the manufacture of the cells is complex. Natural killer (NK) cells that have been modified to express an anti-CD19 CAR have the potential to overcome these limitations.

Cord blood(CB) derived NK cells from healthy donor are the source for production of CAR-NK-CD19 cells. CB derived NK cells are purified and transduced with a retroviral vector encoding the anti-CD19 CAR and interleukin-15.

This is an investigational study. The objectives are to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CAR-NK-CD19 cells in patients with CD19+ B-cell malignancies.

Enrollment: 27 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Aged ≥ 18 years;

2. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score≤ 3;

3. Diagnosed as CD19+ B-cell hematological malignancies, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Non Hodgkin's lymphoma.

4. Patients must relapse or be refractory after at least two lines of therapy.

5. Patient's main organs functioning well:

   A. Liver function: alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase < 2.5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) and total bilirubin≤ 1.5 times ULN; B. Renal function: Creatinine clearance rate ≥ 60ml/min. C. Pulmonary function: Indoor oxygen saturation ≥ 95%. D. Cardiac Function: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥50%, no clinically-significant ECG findings.

6. Negativity of blood pregnancy test for woman, and participants use effective methods of contraception until last follow-up.

7. Patient or his or her legal guardian voluntarily participates in and signs an informed consent form.

Exclusion criteria

1. Investigators judge the patients with gastrointestinal lymph node and/or central nervous system involvement who may be at high-risk of receiving CAR-NK-CD19 cell treatment.
2. Patients with graft-versus-host reaction and need immunosuppressive agents, or patients with autoimmune diseases.
3. Systemic steroids are used within 5 days before apheresis.
4. Drugs to stimulate the production of bone marrow hematopoietic cells are used within 5 days before apheresis.
5. Patients receive cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 21 days before enrollment(Tyrosine kinase inhibitors or other targeted therapies can be used two weeks before lymphodepleting chemotherapy).
6. History of epilepsy or other central nervous system diseases.
7. Participants with other active malignancies (except non-melanoma skin cancer and cervical cancer) within five years.
8. Known HIV positive patients.
9. Patients with active infections, including active replication of hepatitis B or active hepatitis C.
10. Patients receive any antitumor treatments within 4 weeks before enrollment, and the toxicity related to previous treatments don't return to < 1 level at enrollment (except for low grade toxicity such as alopecia).
11. Major surgery in the past 4 weeks.
12. Non-compliant patients.
13. Anticoagulants are being used.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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27 participants in 1 patient group

Fludarabine + Cyclophosphamide + CAR-NK-CD19 Cells

Experimental group

Description:

Patients will received lymphodepletion with fludarabine (30 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (300 mg/kg) on day -5, -4, and -3, followed by one infusion of CAR-NK-CD19 cells on day 0. The study will be divided into three groups: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, and Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Doses of 0.01×10\^7, 0.1×10\^7, 1.0×10\^7 CAR+ T cells (with an allowance of ±20%) will be tested in each group in the 3+3 dose-escalation study. Each dose group has 3 patients. If no dose-limited toxicity (DLT) emerges in the group, then the subsequent higher dose will be used in the next group. If DLT emerges in a single subject in any dose level, 3 more subjects will be enrolled to the same dose level. The maximum dose could be extended.

Treatment:

Drug: Fludarabine + Cyclophosphamide + CAR-NK-CD19 Cells