Anti-CD3 × Anti-EGFR Bispecific-Armed T Cells (EGFR BATs) and Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (LIFU) Blood-Brain Barrier Opening for the Treatment of MGMT Unmethylated Glioblastoma
This phase I trial tests the safety, side effects and best dose of EGFR BATs when given with LIFU blood-brain barrier opening for the treatment of MGMT unmethylated glioblastoma. EGFR BATs are a type of treatment made from a patient's white blood cells that are changed in the laboratory so they will attack cancer cells. Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a non-invasive treatment that uses ultrasound waves to open the blood brain barrier. The blood brain barrier is a network of blood vessels and tissue that is made up of closely spaced cells and helps keep harmful substances from reaching the brain. While the blood brain barrier does a great job of keeping out harmful substances, it also keeps most medications used to treat glioblastoma from reaching the brain. LIFU can open the blood brain barrier and allow the EGFT BATs to reach the cancer cells. Giving EGFR BATs with LIFU blood brain barrier opening may be safe and tolerable in treating patients with MGMT unmethylated glioblastoma.
Inclusion Criteria
- Newly diagnosed supratentorial glioblastoma or gliosarcoma IDH wildtype and MGMT unmethylated that express positive EGFR and confirmed by University of Virginia (UVA) pathology review
- Age ≥ 18 and ≤ 70 years at the time of signing informed consent
- Karnofsky performance status (KPS) ≥ 70
- Be willing and able to provide written informed consent for the trial
- Females of childbearing potential, and males, must be willing to use an effective method of contraception
- Maximal surgical debulking of the tumor was performed where residual contrast enhancement is 2 cm^3 or less on immediate post-operative MRI. Intraoperative post-resection MRI is acceptable
- Able to communicate during the LIFU BBB opening procedure
- BBB opening target(s) must lie in non-eloquent area(s)
- The brain tumor to be treated must be in the treatment envelope of the NaviFUS system with a minimum distance of 30 mm from the inner skull table
- Females of childbearing potential should have a negative serum pregnancy test. Males who are partners of females of childbearing potential must agree to use an acceptable method of contraception throughout the study and for 1 month following completion of the EGFR BATs infusions
- Absolute lymphocyte count ≥ 500/mm^3 (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
- Granulocytes > 1,000/mm^3 (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
- Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥1,000 /mcL (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
- Platelets ≥ 100,000 /mcL (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
- Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL (or ≥ 5.6 mmol/L without transfusion or epoetin alfa (EPO) dependency (within 7 days of assessment) (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
- Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ≤ 1.5 X upper limit of normal (ULN) (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
- Serum creatinine within the normal limits OR Measured or calculated creatinine clearance* ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73m^2 (within 10 days before leukapheresis) * (glomerular filtration rate [GFR] can also be used in place of creatinine or creatinine clearance [CrCl]) * Creatinine clearance should be calculated per institutional standard.
- Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 X ULN OR Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)(serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT]) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase [SGPT]) ≤ 5 X ULN (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
- Albumin > 2.5 mg/dL (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
- International Normalized Ratio (INR) or Prothrombin Time (PT) Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) ≤ 1.5 X ULN unless the subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within the therapeutic range of the intended use of anticoagulants (within 10 days before leukapheresis)
Exclusion Criteria
- Patients with a diagnosis of another malignancy within 2 years of being on-study. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy, or any type of in situ cancer. Patients must not be on any treatment for another malignancy
- Patients undergoing only biopsy (partial resection or greater is required)
- Patients with cerebellar or brainstem tumors
- Patients with evidence of leptomeningeal dissemination or subependymal spread on initial MRI
- Patients with extracranial metastases
- Patients with evidence of acute intracranial hemorrhage
- Known hypersensitivity to cetuximab or another EGFR antibody
- Known sensitivity to gadolinium-based contrast agents
- Known sensitivity to Lumason® ultrasound contrast agent
- Alpha 1,3 Galactose IgE (“alpha gal”) test result outside of the reference range (indicating likely hypersensitivity to cetuximab)
- Patients with claustrophobia
- Clips, shunts, or other non-MRI compatible metallic implanted objects in the skull or the brain
- Evidence of active bleeding or bleeding diathesis
- Unable to discontinue use of anticoagulant therapy as per local standard
- Scalp atrophy or scars in the expected location of the ultrasound transducer
- Cardiac Status: Patients will be ineligible for treatment on this protocol if (before protocol entry): * There is a history of a recent (within one year) myocardial infarction or stroke. * There is a current or prior history of angina/coronary symptoms requiring medications and/or a history of depressed left ventricular function (LVEF < 45%). * Patient has a pacemaker
- There is clinical evidence of congestive heart failure requiring medical management
- Has human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (HIV 1/2 antibodies) or known active hepatitis B (e.g., hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] reactive) or hepatitis C (e.g., hepatitis C virus [HCV] ribonucleic acid [RNA] [qualitative] is detected)
- Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of leukapheresis
- Has received any treatment for GBM besides surgery
- Females must not be pregnant or breastfeeding
- Ongoing immunosuppressive therapy except for corticosteroids
- Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject’s participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator
- A patient may be excluded if, in the opinion of the treating investigator, the patient is not capable of being compliant
Study sponsor and potential other locations can be found on ClinicalTrials.gov for NCT07343986.
Locations matching your search criteria
United States
Virginia
Charlottesville
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
I. Determine the safety and feasibility of the combination of anti-CD3/anti-EGFR-bispecific monoclonal antibody-armed activated autologous T-lymphocytes (EGFR BATs) and LIFU blood brain barrier (BBB) opening after concomitant radiation therapy (RT)/temozolomide (TMZ) in patients with newly diagnosed MGMT unmethylated glioblastoma (GBM).
II. Determine the safety and feasibility of labeling EGFR BATS with 89Zr-oxine to assess their trafficking into the GBM microenvironment by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with and without LIFU BBB opening at different time points.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. Measure immune responses by sequential monitoring of cellular phenotype, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) EliSpots, anti-GBM cytotoxicity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) directed at GBM cell lines, serum cytokine patterns, and anti-glioma antibodies in the serum.
II. Correlate the trafficking of EGFR BATs to the GBM bed with and without LIFU BBB opening and the endogenous cellular and humoral immune responses against GBM and clinical outcomes.
III. Measure blood biomarkers pre- and post-LIFU BBB opening.
IV. Preliminary assessment of response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) of patients with unmethylated MGMT GBM treated with EGFR BATs and LIFU BBB opening after concomitant RT/TMZ.
V. Assess the kinetics, distribution, and proportion of EGFR BATs trafficking across the BBB into the GBM microenvironment by labeling EGFR BATS with 89Zr-oxine for PET imaging with and without LIFU BBB opening at different time points.
VI. Assess the persistence of EGFR BATs in peripheral blood pre- and post-infusions.
OUTLINE: Patients are assigned to 1 of 2 arms.
ARM A: Patients undergo apheresis. Patients then receive standard of care radiation therapy daily, 5 days per week, and temozolomide orally (PO) once daily (QD), for about 6 weeks, in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Starting 2-8 weeks after completion of radiation and temozolomide, patients receive EGFR BATs intravenously (IV) once weekly (QW) for 8 weeks. 20-28 hours after infusion 4 and 8, patients receive Lumason IV followed by LIFU. Treatment is given in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients undergo PET scan on study and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and blood sample collection throughout the study.
ARM B: Patients undergo apheresis. Patients then receive standard of care radiation therapy daily, 5 days per week, and temozolomide PO QD, for about 6 weeks, in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Starting 2-8 weeks after completion of radiation and temozolomide, patients receive EGFR BATs IV QW for 8 weeks. 20-28 hours after infusion 1, 4 and 8, patients receive Lumason IV followed by LIFU. Treatment is given in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients undergo PET scan on study and MRI and blood sample collection throughout the study.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 1-3 weeks, 30 days and every 2 months for 1 year then every 3 months thereafter.
Trial PhasePhase I
Trial Typetreatment
Lead OrganizationUniversity of Virginia Cancer Center
Principal InvestigatorCamilo Enrique Fadul
- Primary IDHSR231550
- Secondary IDsNCI-2026-04795, GBM BATs FUS
- ClinicalTrials.gov IDNCT07343986