Modified Immune Cells (CD19 CAR T cells) and Acalabrutinib for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Inclusion Criteria

• All participants must have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent
• Participants must agree to allow the use of archival tissue from diagnostic tumor biopsies * If unavailable, exceptions may be granted with study principal investigator (PI) approval Note: For research participants who do not speak English, a short form consent may be used with a City of Hope (COH) certified interpreter/translator to proceed with screening and leukapheresis, while the request for a translated full consent is processed
• Age 18 years and older
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =< 2 or Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) >= 70%
• Documented CD19+ mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) by flow cytometry or immunohistochemistry (IHC) (from biopsy) if prior CD19 directed therapy was previously used * BM is optional at enrollment IF patient already has biopsy proven disease
• Participants must be currently receiving acalabrutinib and have been taking acalabrutinib for between 3 and 7 months prior to initiating screening procedures on the study and: * Must have failed at least 1 prior regimen before acalabrutinib (not including single‐agent corticosteroids) * Best response to acalabrutinib therapy is MRD+ CR, partial response (PR) or stable response (SD) at the time of screening ** Must have measurable disease by computed tomography (CT) scan (>= 1.5 cm) or evidence of blood, spleen, skin, gastrointestinal (GI) or bone marrow involvement Note: Participants who are on other BTK inhibitors, but will thereafter be switched to acalabrutinib prior to lymphodepletion, may be eligible provided that the duration of all BTK inhibitor therapy was =< 3-7 months
• No contraindications to leukapheresis, steroids or tocilizumab
• Total serum bilirubin =< 2.0 mg/dL (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment)
• Participants with Gilbert syndrome may be included if their total bilirubin is >= 3.0 x upper limit of normal (ULN) and direct bilirubin =< 1.5 x ULN (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment)
• Absolute neutrophil count ([ANC] ≥ 1000 cells/ul) (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment). Growth factor use within 7 days prior screening is not allowed * Exception: participants with bone marrow involvement do not need to meet this criteria
• Platelet count ≥ 75,000/ul (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment). Transfusion with 7 days prior to screening is not allowed * Exception: participants with bone marrow involvement do not need to meet this criteria
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) < 3 x ULN (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment)
• Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) < 3 x ULN (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment)
• Creatinine clearance of >= 50 mL/min per the Cockcroft‐Gault formula (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment)
• International normalized ratio (INR) OR prothrombin (PT) =< 1.5 x ULN (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment)
• Activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) =< 1.5 x ULN (performed within 28 days prior to enrollment)
• Female of childbearing potential: negative urine or serum pregnancy test. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required
• Cardiac function (12 lead‐electrocardiogram [ECG]): corrected QT (QTc) must be =< 480 msec
• Left ventricular ejection fraction > 40%
• Oxygen saturation 92% or above at room air or diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) of 40% of best predicted
• Participants of reproductive potential must agree to use highly effective birth control methods throughout therapy and for 2 months after final CAR T cell infusion and/or 2 days after final acalabrutinib dose, whichever is later

Exclusion Criteria

• Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) within the last 6 months
• Autologous HCT within the last 3 months
• Prior failure of any BTK inhibitor therapy. (Participant WILL be allowed if, after administration of other BTK inhibitors they have switched to acalabrutinib prior to lymphodepletion, and if the duration of all BTK inhibitor therapy was =< 3-7 months)
• Participants known to have mutations associated with resistance to BTK inhibitors from prior studies
• Concurrent use of systemic steroids or chronic use of immunosuppressant medications. Recent or current use of inhaled steroids is not exclusionary. Physiologic replacement of steroids (i.e., prednisone =< 7.5 mg /day, or hydrocortisone =< 20 mg /day) is allowed. During study participation, participants may receive systemic corticosteroids as needed for treatment‐emergent comorbid conditions
• Approved anti‐cancer therapies other than acalabrutinib are not allowed after enrollment, with the exception of steroids or involved field radiation to control progressive disease during cell manufacturing, prior to lymphodepletion/start of protocol therapy
• Requires treatment with a strong cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) inhibitor/inducer
• Unable to discontinue anticoagulation with warfarin or equivalent vitamin K antagonists (e.g., phenprocoumon) within 7 days of leukapheresis and remain off through end of study treatment
• Class III/IV cardiovascular disability according to the New York Heart Association classification. Subjects with controlled, asymptomatic atrial fibrillation can enroll
• Participants with clinically significant arrhythmia or arrhythmias not stable on medical management
• Active auto‐immune disease requiring systemic immunosuppressive therapy, including uncontrolled autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) or idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
• Suspected or confirmed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)
• Requires major surgical procedure within 28 days prior to first dose of study drug. If a subject has major surgery, they must have recovered adequately from any toxicity and/or complications from the intervention before the first dose of study drug
• Participants with a known history or prior diagnosis of optic neuritis or other immunologic or inflammatory disease affecting the central nervous system
• Known history of drug‐specific hypersensitivity or anaphylaxis to either study agent
• Malabsorption syndrome, disease significantly affecting gastrointestinal function, or resection of the stomach or small bowel that is likely to affect absorption, symptomatic inflammatory bowel disease, partial or complete bowel obstruction, or gastric restrictions and bariatric surgery, such as gastric bypass
• Known bleeding disorders (e.g., von Willebrand's disease or hemophilia)
• History of stroke or intracranial hemorrhage within 6 months prior to enrollment
• History of other malignancies, except for the following: malignancy surgically resected (or treated with other modalities) with curative intent, adequately treated in situ carcinoma of the breast or cervix uteri, basal cell carcinoma of the skin or localized squamous cell carcinoma of the skin; early stage prostate cancer on expectant management; malignancy treated with curative intent with no known active disease present for >= 3 years
• Lactating women
• Active chronic graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) post‐allogeneic HCT
• Uncontrolled active infection: * Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive or have active hepatitis B or C infection based on testing performed within 4 weeks of enrollment * Hepatitis B or C serologic status: subjects who are hepatitis B core antibody (anti‐HBc) positive and who are surface antigen negative will need to have a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result. Those who are hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) positive or hepatitis B PCR positive will be excluded ** Subjects who are hepatitis B core antibody positive (or have a known history of hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection) should be monitored quarterly with a quantitative PCR test for HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). HBV monitoring should last until 12 months after last dose of study drug. Any subject with a rising viral load (above lower limit of detection) should discontinue study drug and have antiviral therapy instituted and a consultation with a physician with expertise in managing hepatitis B. Subjects who are core antibody (Ab) positive at study enrollment are strongly recommended to start entecavir before start and until completion of study treatment * Subjects who are hepatitis C antibody positive will need to have a negative PCR result. Those who are hepatitis C PCR positive will be excluded * Subjects who are positive cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) * Subject with any active significant bacterial, fungal or viral (other than those listed) infections
• Any other condition that would, in the Investigator’s judgment, contraindicate the subject’s participation in the clinical study due to safety concerns with clinical study procedures
• Prospective participants who, in the opinion of the investigator, may not be able to comply with all study procedures (including compliance issues related to feasibility/logistics)