E-SYNC T Cells for Glioblastoma

Overseen By Stephanie Lewis, MSN, RN

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Phase 1

Sponsor: Hideho Okada, MD, PhD

Must not be taking: EGFR-targeting therapy

Disqualifiers: HIV, Hepatitis B/C, Alcohol addiction, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 1

Duration: 1 day

20 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

The trial aims to test the safety of a new treatment using E-SYNC T cells, which modifies a person's immune cells to target and fight glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Participants will first receive chemotherapy to enhance the effectiveness of the E-SYNC T cells. The trial includes different groups to assess how varying doses affect safety and effectiveness. It is suitable for individuals with glioblastoma who have a specific marker on their cancer cells and have completed standard radiation therapy. As a Phase 1 trial, the research focuses on understanding how the treatment works in people, offering participants the opportunity to be among the first to receive this innovative therapy.

Do I have to stop taking my current medications to join the trial?

The trial protocol does not specify if you need to stop taking your current medications, but you must be off systemic steroids for at least 3 days before certain procedures. It's best to discuss your specific medications with the trial team.

Is there any evidence suggesting that this treatment is likely to be safe for humans?

Research shows that E-SYNC T cells, a type of CAR T-cell therapy, are under investigation for treating glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Early results indicate that researchers are testing these cells for safety and identifying any side effects. In past studies, CAR T-cell therapies have demonstrated the ability to specifically target cancer cells.

This trial marks the first time E-SYNC T cells are tested in humans, so detailed safety information is still being collected. However, similar CAR T-cell therapies have shown that while side effects can occur, they are often manageable with medical care.

As this is an early-stage trial, the main goal is to assess the treatment's safety and patient tolerance. Researchers will closely monitor participants to ensure any side effects are quickly managed. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why do researchers think this study treatment might be promising for glioblastoma?

Unlike the standard treatments for glioblastoma, which typically involve surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, E-SYNC T Cells offer a groundbreaking approach. These cells are engineered to specifically target the EGFRvIII mutation found in some glioblastoma tumors. This targeted mechanism could potentially increase the effectiveness of treatment by selectively attacking cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. Researchers are also excited because this method uses the body's own immune system, potentially leading to more durable and less toxic outcomes.

What evidence suggests that E-SYNC T Cells might be an effective treatment for glioblastoma?

Research shows that CAR T-cell therapy, such as E-SYNC T cells, holds promise for treating glioblastoma by directly targeting cancer cells. In this trial, participants will receive E-SYNC T cells, which are specially modified to find and attack the EGFRvIII protein, often present on glioblastoma cells. Studies have shown that targeting specific proteins on cancer cells can help shrink tumors and slow their growth. E-SYNC T cells aim to provide similar benefits by targeting this unique protein, potentially improving outcomes for patients with this difficult-to-treat cancer. Early results from similar CAR T-cell therapies suggest effectiveness, but further research is needed to confirm these findings. ^{1 2 5 6 7}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Jennifer Clarke, MD, MPH

Principal Investigator

University of California, San Francisco

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

Adults with a specific mutation in their epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRvIII) who have been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Participants must meet certain health standards and not be receiving other treatments that could interfere.

Inclusion Criteria

I can breathe normally without feeling short of breath and my oxygen level is above 92%.

My cancer has a low or no MGMT gene methylation.

My latest surgery confirmed I have EGFRvIII+ GBM.

Exclusion Criteria

I have been treated with drugs targeting EGFR.

I have a condition like HIV or an autoimmune disease that affects my immune system.

I can attend all required follow-up visits and tests.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Radiation

Participants complete non-interventional, standard of care radiation therapy

2 weeks

Leukapheresis and Manufacturing

Participants undergo leukapheresis for the creation of E-SYNC T cells

2 weeks

Lymphodepleting Chemotherapy

Participants receive cyclophosphamide and fludarabine IV on days -5, -4, and -3

1 week

Treatment

Participants receive a single infusion of E-SYNC T cells

1 day

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment

Up to 96 weeks

Days 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, then every 4 weeks in weeks 8-24, every 8 weeks in weeks 32-48, every 12 weeks in weeks 60-96

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• E-SYNC T Cells

Trial Overview The trial is testing E-SYNC T Cells, which are engineered immune cells designed to target cancer cells in the brain. It's an early-stage study to see if this treatment is safe and how well it works.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Cohort 2: Tissue analysis cohort Experimental Treatment 5 Interventions

Participants with EGFRvIII+ glioblastoma recurrence after initial non-investigational, chemoradiation who need surgery will have the EGFRvIII H-scored based on digital image analysis of EGFRvIII immunohistochemistry (IHC) slides, with the score denoting both extent of and intensity of positive staining. Participants with an H-score of \>=250 will undergo leukapheresis for manufacturing of E-SYNC T cells at the maximum tolerated dose, or recommended dose based on results from cohort 1 more than 2 weeks after completion of their non-investigational, standard of care radiation therapy. Participants will receive a single infusion of drug product (DP) on day 0 and will be admitted to the hospital for surgical resection (non-investigational) between days 14 and 28, and monitored for safety, presence of and possible synNotch \> CAR-T priming of the DP in the peripheral blood, and anti-tumor response of E-SYNC T cells.

Group II: Cohort 1: Starting Dose Level 1 (5 x 10^7 CAR+ cells) (DL1) Experimental Treatment 4 Interventions

Participants with newly diagnosed EGFRvIII+ GBM with unmethylated MGMT promotor status will undergo leukapheresis for manufacturing of E-SYNC T cells at least 2 weeks after completion of non-interventional, standard of care radiation therapy. Participants receive cyclophosphamide IV and fludarabine IV on days -5, -4, and -3 and then receive E-SYNC T cells IV on day 0. Participants will receive a single infusion of drug product (DP) (5 x 10\^7 CAR+ T cells) and be monitored for safety, presence of and possible synNotch \> CAR-T priming of the DP in the peripheral blood.

Group III: Cohort 1: Dose-escalation Level 2 (1.5 x 10^8 CAR+ cells) (DL2) Experimental Treatment 4 Interventions

If there are no dose-limiting toxicities in the starting dose cohort, participants with newly diagnosed EGFRvIII+ GBM with unmethylated MGMT promotor status will undergo leukapheresis for manufacturing of E-SYNC T cells at least 2 weeks after completion of tnon-interventional, standard of care radiation therapy. Participants receive cyclophosphamide IV and fludarabine IV on days -5, -4, and -3 and then receive E-SYNC T cells IV on day 0. Participants will receive a single infusion of drug product (DP) (1.5 x 10\^8 CAR+ T cells) and be monitored for safety, presence of and possible synNotch \> CAR-T priming of the DP in the peripheral blood.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Hideho Okada, MD, PhD

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1

Recruited

20+

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)

Collaborator

Trials

70

Recruited

3,300+

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Collaborator

Trials

14,080

Recruited

41,180,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

Two types of CAR-T cells targeting the EphA2 receptor showed significant anti-glioblastoma (GBM) efficacy in vitro and improved survival in tumor-bearing mice, eliminating 20%-50% of tumors in xenograft models.

The effectiveness of these CAR-T cells is linked to the balance of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production and CXCR-1/2 expression, with excessive IFN-γ leading to reduced anti-tumor activity due to PD-L1 upregulation in GBM cells.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Antitumor activity of the third generation EphA2 CAR-T cells against glioblastoma is associated with interferon gamma induced PD-L1. An, Z., Hu, Y., Bai, Y., et al.[2022]

The study introduces a novel approach using multi-antigen prime-and-kill recognition circuits to enhance the effectiveness of CAR T cell therapy for glioblastoma, allowing for targeted killing of tumor cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.

In experiments with immunodeficient mice, T cells engineered with a synNotch-CAR targeting the glioblastoma-specific antigen EGFRvIII showed improved antitumor efficacy and durability compared to traditional CAR T cells, demonstrating the potential for this method to be applied to other solid tumors.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

SynNotch-CAR T cells overcome challenges of specificity, heterogeneity, and persistence in treating glioblastoma. Choe, JH., Watchmaker, PB., Simic, MS., et al.[2022]

In a first-in-human trial of EGFRvIII-directed CAR T cell therapy for recurrent glioblastoma, the presence of PD1 expression in CD4+ CAR T cells was found to positively correlate with both engraftment in the bloodstream and progression-free survival (PFS).

The study suggests that PD1+ CAR T cells may serve as a predictive marker for therapeutic success in solid tumors, as higher frequencies of PD1+GZMB+ and PD1+HLA-DR+ CAR T cells were associated with better clinical outcomes, while other immune checkpoint markers did not show significant associations.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

PD1 Expression in EGFRvIII-Directed CAR T Cell Infusion Product for Glioblastoma Is Associated with Clinical Response. Tang, OY., Tian, L., Yoder, T., et al.[2022]

The study found that different designs of B7-H3-specific CAR T-cells showed strong functionality in lab tests, but their effectiveness against gliomas varied significantly in a living model, highlighting the importance of CAR structure.

Successful anti-tumor responses were linked to the presence and activity of macrophages and endogenous T-cells in the tumor immune microenvironment, indicating that both CAR design and the immune context are crucial for effective therapy.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

CAR T-cell design dependent remodeling of the brain tumor immune microenvironment identify macrophages as key players that inhibit or promote anti-tumor activity. Haydar, D., Ibañez-Vega, J., Crawford, JC., et al.[2023]

The proposed CAR T cell therapy utilizes a novel synNotch receptor pathway to enhance specificity and reduce toxicity in targeting glioblastoma multiforme, potentially addressing high recurrence rates seen in traditional CAR T therapies.

This innovative approach combines a tandem CAR targeting two glioblastoma stem cell antigens (IL-13Rα2 and CD133) with a synNotch receptor that requires dual activation, which may lead to more effective tumor elimination while minimizing damage to healthy cells.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Proposing a tandem AND-gate CAR T cell targeting glioblastoma multiforme. Sabahi, M., Jabbari, P., Alizadeh Haghighi, M., et al.[2022]

A new preclinical mouse model using D-270 MG xenografts effectively mimics the invasive growth patterns of human glioblastoma (GBM), allowing for better study of potential treatments.

T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors targeting the EGFRvIII mutation in GBM were able to migrate to invasive tumor areas, suppress tumor growth, and improve survival in mice, indicating a promising approach for immunotherapy in treating GBM.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

EGFRvIII-specific chimeric antigen receptor T cells migrate to and kill tumor deposits infiltrating the brain parenchyma in an invasive xenograft model of glioblastoma. Miao, H., Choi, BD., Suryadevara, CM., et al.[2023]

EphA2 has been identified as a promising target for immunotherapy in glioblastoma (GBM) due to its overexpression in glioma cells, and T cells engineered to target EphA2 showed effective tumor recognition and killing in laboratory tests.

In experiments with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice, the transfer of EphA2-specific T cells led to significant tumor regression and improved survival compared to untreated mice, suggesting that this approach could be a viable treatment for patients with EphA2-positive GBM.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

T cells redirected to EphA2 for the immunotherapy of glioblastoma. Chow, KK., Naik, S., Kakarla, S., et al.[2022]

CAR T cell therapy targeting the glioblastoma antigen EphA2 shows promise for treating this aggressive brain tumor, as EphA2 is highly expressed in glioblastoma but minimally in normal brain tissue.

Among the evaluated CAR designs, CD28.ζ CAR T cells were chosen for clinical development due to their effective antitumor activity and better safety profile, despite no significant functional differences found between various CAR configurations.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Optimizing EphA2-CAR T Cells for the Adoptive Immunotherapy of Glioma. Yi, Z., Prinzing, BL., Cao, F., et al.[2020]

Citations

1. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06186401

NCT06186401 | Anti-EGFRvIII synNotch Receptor Induced ... This phase I trial tests the safety, side effects, and best dose of E-SYNC chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells after lymphodepleting chemotherapy in ...

2. braintumorcenter.ucsf.edu braintumorcenter.ucsf.edu/clinical-trial/anti-egfrviii-synnotch-receptor-induced-anti-epha2-il-13ralpha2-car-e-sync-t-cells

Anti-EGFRvIII synNotch Receptor Induced Anti-EphA2/​IL ... This is a first-in-human phase I study to assess the safety and feasibility of using an IV infusion of E-SYNC T cells to treat patients with EGFRvIII-mutated ...

3. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12401244/

CAR-T cell therapy for glioblastoma: advances, challenges ... Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) therapy for glioblastoma involves critically evaluating progress, effectiveness, and challenges.

4. journals.lww.com journals.lww.com/annals-of-medicine-and-surgery/fulltext/2025/09000/car_t_cell_therapy_for_glioblastoma__advances,.48.aspx

CAR-T cell therapy for glioblastoma: advances, challenges,... Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) therapy for glioblastoma involves critically evaluating progress, effectiveness, and challenges.

5. braintumor.org braintumor.org/news/new-brain-tumor-clinical-trials-april-october-2024/

New Brain Tumor Clinical Trials: April – October 2024 This phase I trial tests the safety, side effects, and best dose of E-SYNC chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells after lymphodepleting ...

6. alphaclinic.ucsf.edu alphaclinic.ucsf.edu/phase-1-study-autologous-anti-egfrviii-synnotch-receptor-induced-anti-epha2il-13r%CE%B12-car-e-sync-t

Phase 1 Study of Autologous anti-EGFRvIII synNotch ... The overall objective of this study is to determine the safety and feasibility of one infusion of E-SYNC T cells for the treatment of EGFRvIII+ glioblastoma.

7. cancer.gov cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials/intervention/C203620?pn=1

Clinical Trials Using Autologous Anti-EGFRvIII synNotch ... Review the clinical trials studying autologous anti-egfrviii synnotch receptor-induced anti-epha2/il-13ralpha2 car-t cells on this list and use the filters ...