Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes for Virus-Related Cancer

Overseen By Amanda L. Olson, MD

Age: Any Age

Sex: Any

Travel: May Be Covered

Time Reimbursement: Varies

Trial Phase: Phase 2

Recruiting

Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Must be taking: Antivirals

Must not be taking: Prednisone, ATG, DLI, Campath

Disqualifiers: Uncontrolled infections, Active acute GVHD, others

No Placebo Group

Prior Safety Data

Approved in 2 Jurisdictions

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

This phase II trial studies how well donor cytotoxic T lymphocytes work in treating patients with malignancies with BK and/or JC virus. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes are made from donated blood cells that are grown in the laboratory and are designed to kill viruses that can cause infections in transplant patients and may be an effective treatment in patients with malignancies with BK and/or JC virus.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial does not specify if you need to stop taking your current medications, but it does mention that patients must be able to reduce steroids to less than 0.5 mg/kg/day of prednisone. If you are on antiviral therapy like cidofovir or leflunomide without response, you can still participate.

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Allogeneic BK-specific Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes for virus-related cancer?

Research shows that BK-specific T cells can be expanded and used to target BK virus infections, particularly in kidney transplant patients, suggesting that similar T cell therapies could be effective in treating virus-related cancers by enhancing the body's immune response to the virus. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Is the treatment with cytotoxic T lymphocytes for virus-related cancer generally safe in humans?

The research on cytotoxic T lymphocytes, specifically targeting the BK virus, suggests that these cells can be generated and used safely in humans, as they show specificity for the virus and minimal reactivity against non-infected cells. This indicates a potential for safe application in treating virus-related conditions, although specific safety data for cancer treatment is not detailed in the studies. ^{1 2 3 4 6}

How is the treatment Allogeneic BK-specific Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes unique for virus-related cancer?

This treatment is unique because it uses donor-derived cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (a type of immune cell) specifically targeted against BK virus, which is associated with certain cancers. Unlike traditional treatments, it harnesses the body's immune system to specifically attack virus-infected cancer cells, potentially offering a more targeted approach. ^{7 8 9 10 11}

Research Team

Amanda Olson

Principal Investigator

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for patients with various malignancies, HIV/AIDS, history of organ transplant, or Merkel cell carcinoma linked to BK/JC viruses. Participants must have measurable disease and be willing to use contraception if applicable. Excluded are those on high-dose steroids, recent recipients of certain immune therapies, or with active severe infections.

Inclusion Criteria

I have cancer, HIV/AIDS, a history of organ transplant, or Merkel cell tumors with measurable disease.

I can reduce my steroid use to less than 0.5 mg/kg/day of prednisone.

I am not pregnant and willing to use birth control during the study.

Exclusion Criteria

I am currently experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of graft-versus-host disease.

I am not currently on high doses of prednisone, nor have I recently received ATG, DLI, or Campath treatments.

I don't have any uncontrolled infections or I've been stable on treatment for them.

Trial Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants receive allogeneic BK-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes intravenously over 30 minutes. Eligible patients may receive up to 19 additional infusions at least 2 weeks apart.

Up to 56 days

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment, including incidence of acute GVHD and adverse events.

12 months

Treatment Details

Interventions

• Allogeneic BK-specific Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CAR T-cell Therapy)

Trial Overview The study tests donor-derived cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against BK and JC viruses in patients with related malignancies. CTLs are blood cells grown in a lab designed to fight these specific viral infections that can complicate transplants.

Participant Groups

Group I: Treatment (BK-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes) Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

Patients receive allogeneic BK-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes IV over 30 minutes. Patients achieving partial response, stable disease, or progressive disease are eligible for 19 additional infusions of CTL occurring at least 2 weeks after the previous CTL infusion if they meet the eligibility criteria for subsequent therapy.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Lead Sponsor

Trials

3,107

Recruited

1,813,000+

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Collaborator

Trials

14,080

Recruited

41,180,000+

Findings from Research

The study identifies a method to effectively capture and expand BKV-specific CD4(+) T cells from kidney transplant patients, which is crucial for improving immune responses against BK virus reactivation.

BKV-specific CD4(+) T cells were found to be multifunctional and cytolytic, indicating their significant role in controlling BKV replication, thus highlighting their potential for use in adoptive immunotherapy.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The role of CD4(+) T cells in BKV-specific T cell immunity. Weist, BJ., Schmueck, M., Fuehrer, H., et al.[2021]

A new method to monitor BKV-specific T-cell immunity was developed, allowing for the detection of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses in kidney transplant patients with high levels of BKV-DNA, which is crucial for understanding the immune response to polyoma BK virus.

This method can help assess how reducing immunosuppression affects BKV immunity and the role of specific T cells in the development of polyoma BK virus-associated nephropathy (PVAN), highlighting its potential for improving patient management in transplant settings.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

HLA type-independent method to monitor polyoma BK virus-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell immunity. Hammer, MH., Brestrich, G., Andree, H., et al.[2023]

BKV-specific CD8(+) T cells are present in low frequencies in healthy individuals and have a unique memory phenotype, which suggests they may play a role in controlling BK virus reactivation in immunocompromised patients.

These T cells exhibit limited direct cytotoxic capacity but are polyfunctional, capable of producing key cytokines like IL-2 and IFN-γ, indicating their potential importance in antiviral immune responses.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Phenotypic and functional characterization of circulating polyomavirus BK VP1-specific CD8+ T cells in healthy adults. van Aalderen, MC., Remmerswaal, EB., Heutinck, KM., et al.[2021]

A new cellular immunotherapy approach was developed to reactivate BKV-specific cytotoxic T cells from kidney transplant recipients, which could help prevent BKV-associated interstitial nephritis, a serious complication after transplantation.

The reactivated T cells showed strong specificity for BKV-infected cells while sparing healthy cells, indicating a targeted and potentially safer treatment option for managing BKV infections in immunocompromised patients.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Dendritic cells pulsed with polyomavirus BK antigen induce ex vivo polyoma BK virus-specific cytotoxic T-cell lines in seropositive healthy individuals and renal transplant recipients. Comoli, P., Basso, S., Azzi, A., et al.[2022]

In a study of healthy BKV-seropositive individuals, most had CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells that specifically responded to BK polyomavirus antigens, indicating a robust immune response against the virus.

The CD4(+) T cells not only produced key cytokines like IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha but also showed signs of cytotoxic activity, suggesting they could help control BKV reactivation and prevent complications in at-risk populations, such as kidney transplant recipients.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Functional characterization of BK virus-specific CD4+ T cells with cytotoxic potential in seropositive adults. Zhou, W., Sharma, M., Martinez, J., et al.[2008]

Immunizing C57BL/6J mice with BK virus (BKV)-transformed cells revealed a common cell surface antigen that is likely linked to the viral transplantation antigen, present in both syngeneic and allogeneic cell lines.

Cytotoxicity tests showed that effective immune response (cytolysis) only occurred when the target cells expressed the same H2 haplotype as the effector lymphocytes, indicating a specific requirement for matching immune markers in the response to BKV.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Cell-mediated immune reaction against BK virus-transformed cells. Mäntyjärvi, R., Karjalainen, H., Laaksonen, M.[2019]

Cytotoxic T cells specific to adult T cell leukemia virus (ATLV) were successfully induced in vitro from peripheral blood leukocytes of healthy donors, demonstrating the potential for targeted immune responses against ATLV-bearing cells.

The induced T cells showed selective cytotoxicity against ATLV-positive cells while sparing healthy cells, indicating a mechanism of HLA-restricted recognition and suggesting the presence of multiple distinct target antigens for effective immunotherapy against ATLV.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Establishment of human cytotoxic T cell lines specific for human adult T cell leukemia virus-bearing cells. Kannagi, M., Sugamura, K., Sato, H., et al.[2006]

Cytotoxic T cells (Tc) play a crucial role in rejecting incompatible tissue grafts and can significantly reduce virus levels in infected organs when transferred to compatible hosts, as shown in studies with ectromelia and influenza virus infections in mice.

Despite evidence of tumor-specific antigens on cancer cells, there is limited evidence for the presence of specific Tc that could target and control tumor growth, suggesting potential challenges in generating effective immune responses against tumors.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Are cytotoxic T cells a common homeostatic mechanism in responses to viruses, homografts and tumours? Ada, GL., Yap, KL.[2005]

Human cytotoxic T lymphocyte lines can be effectively generated by stimulating peripheral blood lymphocytes with allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines, demonstrating the potential for targeted immune responses.

The study found that stimulation with Daudi cells specifically led to the creation of T cell lines that recognize the DR6 antigen, highlighting a mechanism for generating allospecific T cells that could be useful in immunotherapy.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long-term human cytolytic T-cell lines allospecific for HLA-DR6 antigen are OKT4+. Krensky, AM., Reiss, CS., Mier, JW., et al.[2019]

A specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte clone was able to significantly reduce the growth of fibrosarcomas in mice, demonstrating its potential as a targeted cancer therapy.

Combining the tumor-specific transplantation antigen with cyclophosphamide and the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte clone led to a dramatic reduction in tumor size and increased survival time in treated mice, highlighting the efficacy of this multi-faceted approach.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Immunotherapy with a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte clone, soluble antigen, and cyclophosphamide. Komichi, H., Smith, S., Kahan, BD.[2019]

The phase 2 study involved 50 recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants who received donor-derived cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific cytotoxic T cells, aiming to evaluate the efficacy of this treatment.

Outcomes were compared with a control group of patients who underwent the same transplant procedure but did not receive the CMV-specific CTLs, providing insights into the potential benefits of this immunotherapy.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pharmacotherapy versus T lymphocytes for CMV. Heslop, HE.[2021]

References

1. Germany pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The role of CD4(+) T cells in BKV-specific T cell immunity. [2021]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

HLA type-independent method to monitor polyoma BK virus-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell immunity. [2023]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Phenotypic and functional characterization of circulating polyomavirus BK VP1-specific CD8+ T cells in healthy adults. [2021]

4. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Dendritic cells pulsed with polyomavirus BK antigen induce ex vivo polyoma BK virus-specific cytotoxic T-cell lines in seropositive healthy individuals and renal transplant recipients. [2022]

5. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Functional characterization of BK virus-specific CD4+ T cells with cytotoxic potential in seropositive adults. [2008]

6. Germany pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Cell-mediated immune reaction against BK virus-transformed cells. [2019]

7. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Establishment of human cytotoxic T cell lines specific for human adult T cell leukemia virus-bearing cells. [2006]

8. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Are cytotoxic T cells a common homeostatic mechanism in responses to viruses, homografts and tumours? [2005]

9. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long-term human cytolytic T-cell lines allospecific for HLA-DR6 antigen are OKT4+. [2019]

10. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Immunotherapy with a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte clone, soluble antigen, and cyclophosphamide. [2019]

11. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pharmacotherapy versus T lymphocytes for CMV. [2021]