Engineered donor cells take on childhood leukemia in first human test

NCT ID NCT04881240

First seen Jan 04, 2026 · Last updated Jun 20, 2026 · Updated 33 times

Summary

This early-stage trial tests a new type of cell therapy for children and young adults up to age 21 with a form of leukemia (CD19-positive) that has returned or not responded to treatment. The therapy uses immune cells from a family donor that are engineered in a lab to recognize and attack leukemia cells. The main goal is to find a safe dose and understand side effects, including the risk of graft-versus-host disease. Up to 60 participants will be enrolled.

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This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.

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Contacts and locations

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, United States

    Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

    Contact

    Contact

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance

donor immune cells engineered to target leukemia cells (CD19-CAR T-cells)

What this could lead to

If it works, this could offer a new treatment option for children and young adults with leukemia that has come back or not responded to standard therapy.

What could go wrong

This is an early phase 1 trial, so the main goal is safety, not yet proof of effectiveness. There are risks of serious side effects like graft-versus-host disease or cytokine release syndrome.

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

acute lymphoblastic leukemia childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma refractory precursor T-lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.