Cellular Therapy (GPC2-CAR T-Cells) for the Treatment of Children and Young Adults with Relapsed or Refractory Medulloblastoma and other Central Nervous System Embryonal Tumors
This phase I trial studies the side effects and best dose of GPC2-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells in treating patients with children and young adults with medulloblastoma or other central nervous system (CNS) embryonal tumors (e.g., embryonal tumors with multilayered rosettes, atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors, pineoblastoma, CNS neuroblastoma, etc.) that has come back after a period of improvement (relapsed) or that does not respond to treatment (refractory). Cellular therapy uses the body's own immune cells to target markers on the surface of tumor cells. This study uses a GPC2-CAR gene and a type of virus (retrovirus) in making the cellular therapy (GPC2-CAR T-cells). The CAR is genetically-engineered so that immune cells can recognize and respond to a specific molecule, which in this study is the GPC2 cell surface protein. The CAR molecule is combined with a patient's T-cells, which then helps the T-cells target the tumor cells in the body.
Inclusion Criteria
- Histologically confirmed diagnosis of medulloblastoma or other primary CNS embryonal tumor according to 2021 CNS World Health Organization (WHO) Classification (5th edition) * Other acceptable CNS embryonal tumors include: ** Embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes (ETMR) ** Pineoblastoma ** Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (ATRT) of the CNS ** CNS neuroblastoma, FOXR2-activated ** CNS embryonal tumor not otherwise specified (NOS)
- History of relapsed and/or recurrent disease defined as tumor progression or recurrence following initial diagnosis and upfront treatment with curative intent, or failure to achieve disease control with standard curative-intent therapy
- GPC2 Positive: H-score ≥ 100 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining performed on the (Prescreening Protocol Institutional Review Board [IRB]-78780, principal investigator [PI]: Katherine Ryan, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine [DO]) at Stanford Clinical Anatomic Pathology Lab for GPC2 from a tumor sample any time since initial diagnosis
- Evaluable disease as per radiographic findings and/or positive cerebrospinal fluid cytology within 28 days of enrollment
- Patients with pre-existing ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt devices must have a programmable shunt device to enroll on this study. A VP shunt is not a requirement for this study
- No limit to the number of prior treatment regimens. Toxicities due to prior therapy must be stable or recovered to ≤ Grade 1 (except for clinically non-significant toxicities such as alopecia, nutritional support measures, electrolyte abnormalities, or those not impacting the investigator’s ability to assess treatment emergent toxicities) * The following wash-out periods apply at time of enrollment: ** At least 6 weeks following craniospinal radiation therapy *** At least 14 days wash-out needed following small volume radiotherapy (i.e., stereotactic radiosurgery [SRS]) ** At least 21 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is shorter) must have elapsed since any prior systemic therapy, except for systemic inhibitory/stimulatory immune checkpoint therapy, which requires 5 half-lives ** At least 28 days following bevacizumab treatment ** At least 30 days following any investigational drug
- ≥ 12 months to ≤ 30 years of age at time of enrollment * The first 3 subjects treated with GPC2-CAR T cells must be ≥ 3 years old at time of infusion
- Performance Status: Subjects ≥ 16 years of age must have Karnofsky ≥ 60%. Subjects < 16 years of age must have Lansky scale 60%; or Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤ 2
- Hemoglobin ≥ 8 g/dL
- Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1,000/μL
- Platelet count ≥ 75,000/μL, with no platelet transfusion within 96 hours prior to enrollment
- Absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) ≥ 150/μL
- Prothrombin time/international normalized ratio (PT/INR), partial thromboplastin time (PTT) ≤ 1.5 x ULN for age
- Serum creatinine < 1.5 x ULN for age and gender, OR creatinine clearance or glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (radioisotope or iothalamate) ≥ 70 mL/min/1.73 m^2
- Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3x ULN
- Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL, unless subject has Gilbert’s Syndrome
- Cardiac ejection fraction ≥ 45%
- No evidence of physiologically significant pericardial effusion as determined by an echocardiogram (ECHO)
- No clinically significant electrocardiogram (ECG) findings
- No clinically significant pleural effusion
- Pulse oximetry ≥ 92% on room air, OR forced vital capacity ≥ 50% of predicted value
- Females of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test
- Subjects of child-bearing or child-fathering potential must be willing to practice birth control from the time of enrollment on this study and for four (4) months after receiving the preparative regimen or for as long as CAR T cells are detectable in peripheral blood
- All subjects ≥ 18 years of age must be able to give informed consent. For subjects < 18 years old or adults with limited decision-making capacity, their legal authorized representative (LAR) (i.e., parent or guardian) must give informed consent. Pediatric subjects will be included in age-appropriate discussion and assent will be obtained for those > 7 years of age, when appropriate. If a minor becomes of age during participation of this study, he/she will be asked to reconsent as an adult
Exclusion Criteria
- Any patient with metastatic disease OUTSIDE the CNS
- Unwilling or unable, in the investigator’s judgement, to have a CSF reservoir (Ommaya or Rickham) placed. Does not apply to subjects who have a pre-existing device suitable for ICV delivery of CAR T cells and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring
- Clinical evidence of active/on-going significant increased intracranial pressure (i.e., impending herniation) or uncontrolled seizures
- Prior receipt of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based therapy
- Currently receiving anticoagulation therapy
- Known history of infection with HIV or hepatitis B (hepatitis B virus surface antigen [HBsAg] positive) or hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV positive) * EXCEPTION: A history of hepatitis B or hepatitis C is permitted if the viral load is undetectable per quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or nucleic acid testing
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding in a postpartum female
- Known sensitivity or allergy to any agents/reagents used in this study
- History of prior other malignancy * EXCEPTION: Previously diagnosed and definitively treated more than 5 years prior to enrollment or whose prognosis is deemed good enough to not warrant surveillance
- Primary immunodeficiency or history of autoimmune disease (e.g., Crohn's, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus) resulting in end organ injury or requiring systemic immunosuppression/systemic disease modifying agents within the last 2 years
- History of myocardial infarction, cardiac angioplasty or stenting, unstable angina, or other clinically significant cardiac disease within 12 months of enrollment
- Significant medical diseases or poorly controlled conditions that, in the judgement of the investigator, put the subject at an unacceptable risk of complications, including but not limited to: uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, clinically significant inflammatory disorders, immunodeficiency (e.g., HIV infection), immunocompromised for reasons other than malignancy (e.g., chronic corticosteroid therapy or other immunosuppressive therapy), renal failure including patients requiring dialysis, or clinically significant liver dysfunction
- In the Investigator's judgment, the subject or parents/caregivers (as required) will not be able to comply with the study procedures outlined in the study protocol including follow-up visits
Additional locations may be listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for NCT07087002.
Locations matching your search criteria
United States
California
Palo Alto
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
I. Determine the feasibility of manufacturing autologous T cells transduced with GPC2 retroviral vector expressing GPC2 chimeric antigen receptor (GPC2-CAR T cells) to meet investigational new drug (IND) release criteria and protocol directed doses.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. Describe clinical responses and impact on disease burden in children and young adults with recurrent or refractory (R/R) medulloblastoma following at least one dose of GPC2-CAR T cells administered intracerebroventricularly (ICV).
II. Given the expected low accrual rate of non-medulloblastoma central nervous system (CNS) embryonal tumors due to disease rarity, clinical response and impact on disease burden in these patients will be reported in a descriptive manner following at least one dose of GPC2-CAR T cells administered ICV.
EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:
I. Assess and quantify radiographic changes including perfusion metrics and correlate this data with clinical outcomes in clinical trial participants who received at least one dose of GPC2-CAR T cells.
II. Measure the expansion, persistence and phenotype of adoptively transferred GPC2 CAR-T in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood and correlate this data with antitumor effects after initial dose and after subsequent ICV doses.
III. Conduct analyses of the manufactured T cell product in the blood and CSF post-infusion to identify biomarkers associated with enhanced CAR T cell expansion and/or persistence.
IV. Assess cytokine levels in the blood and CSF over the clinical trial period and correlate with response, cytokine release and/or tumor-inflammation-associated neurotoxicity.
V. Evaluate whether anti-GPC2 CAR immune responses, such as the emergence of antibodies correlate with CAR T cell persistence and clinical outcomes.
VI. In clinical trial participants who undergo an additional tumor resection or autopsy, evaluate whether quantitative GPC2 antigen density, GPC2 CAR persistence in the tumor tissue and spatial factors in the tumor microenvironment are correlated with response to GPC2 CAR-T cell infusion.
VII. Measure levels of soluble GPC2 in the CSF pre- and post-treatment with GPC2 CAR-T ICV and correlate with tumor burden objective response to GPC2 CAR-T therapy.
VIII. Assess whether changes in the level of circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) in the CSF can provide prognostic information and/or information regarding clonal evolution of medulloblastoma tumor cells over time.
IX. Evaluate whether signatures in the patient’s microbiome at baseline and over the course of treatment correlate with anti-tumor responses, CAR T cell expansion and/or persistence and toxicity.
OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of GPC2 CAR-T cells.
CAR T PRODUCTION: Patients undergo leukapheresis over 1-3 days for manufacturing of the GPC2 CAR-T cells.
LYMPHODEPLETION: Patients undergo surgical placement of an Ommaya or Codman-Rickham CSF reservoir and catheter at least 7 days prior to initiation of lymphodepleting chemotherapy (unless suitable CSF reservoir device already placed). Patients then receive fludarabine intravenously (IV) and cyclophosphamide IV on days -4, -3, and -2.
CAR T CELL TREATMENT: Patients receive GPC2 CAR-T cells ICV on day 0 of each cycle. Cycles repeat every 28 days for up to 8 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Patients also undergo echocardiography (ECHO) during screening, as well as brain and spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and collection of CSF and blood samples throughout the study.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year, then annually for 15 years.
Trial PhasePhase I
Trial Typetreatment
Lead OrganizationStanford Cancer Institute Palo Alto
Principal InvestigatorKatherine J Ryan
- Primary IDCCT6014
- Secondary IDsNCI-2025-06836
- ClinicalTrials.gov IDNCT07087002