Engineered immune cells take aim at Hard-to-Treat cancers

NCT ID NCT05415475

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 09, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This early-stage trial tests a new type of cell therapy called CEA-targeted CAR-T for people with advanced colorectal, esophageal, stomach, or pancreatic cancers that have stopped responding to standard treatments. The therapy involves taking a patient's own immune cells, engineering them to recognize a protein called CEA found on many tumor cells, and infusing them back into the body to attack the cancer. The main goals are to check the treatment's safety and find the best dose, while also seeing if it can shrink tumors or slow disease progression.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
CEA CAR-T cells (a type of immune cell therapy)
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer a new treatment option for people with advanced cancers that have not responded to standard therapies.
What could go wrong
This is an early phase 1 trial with only 30 participants, so the results may not apply to everyone. CAR-T therapy can cause serious side effects like cytokine release syndrome and organ damage.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 1

The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.

Participants

30 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Sep 2021

Finished

Sep 2025

Lead sponsor

A company

The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age ≥18 years old, male or female; 2. Advanced, metastatic or recurrent malignant tumors diagnosed by histology or pathology, mainly colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer; 3. After receiving at least second-line standard treatment and failing (disease progression or intolerance, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc.) or lack of effective treatment methods; 4. Immunohistochemical staining of tumor samples within 3 months confirmed that the tumor was CEA positive (clear membrane staining, positive rate ≥ 10%); the patient's serum CEA should exceed 10ug/L. 5. At least one assessable lesion according to RECIST 1.1 criteria; 6. ECOG score 0-2 points; 7. No serious mental disorder; 8. Unless otherwise specified, the function of the vital organs of the subject shall meet the following conditions: 1. Blood routine: white blood cells\>2.0×109/L, neutrophils\>0.8×109/L, lymphocytes cells\>0.5×109/L, platelets\>50×109/L, hemoglobin\>90g/L; 2. Cardiac function: echocardiography showed cardiac ejection fraction ≥50%, and no obvious abnormality was found on electrocardiogram; 3. Renal function: serum creatinine≤2.0×ULN; 4. Liver function: ALT and AST ≤3.0×ULN (for those with liver tumor infiltration, it can be relaxed to≤5.0×ULN); 5. Total bilirubin≤2.0×ULN; 6. Oxygen saturation \> 92% in non-oxygen state. 9. Have apheresis or venous blood collection standards, and have no other contraindications for cell collection; 10. Subjects agree to use reliable and effective contraceptive methods for contraception within 1 year after signing the informed consent form to receiving CAR-T cell infusion (excluding rhythm contraception); 11. The patients themselves or their guardians agree to participate in this clinical trial and sign the ICF, indicating that they understand the purpose and procedures of this clinical trial and are willing to participate in the research. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Previous CAR-T therapy or other gene-modified cell therapy; 2. CNS metastases or meningeal metastases with clinical symptoms at the time of screening, or there is other evidence that the patient's central nervous system metastases or meningeal metastases have not been controlled, and are judged by the investigator to be unsuitable for inclusion; 3. Participated in other clinical studies within 1 month before screening; 4. vaccinated with live attenuated vaccine within 4 weeks before screening; 5. Received the following anti-tumor treatments before screening: Received chemotherapy, targeted therapy or other experimental drug treatments within 14 days or at least 5 half-lives (whichever is shorter); 6. Active infection or uncontrollable infection requiring systemic treatment; 7. Patients with intestinal obstruction, active gastrointestinal bleeding, or a history of gastrointestinal bleeding within 3 months; 8. Except for alopecia or peripheral neuropathy, the toxicity of previous anti-tumor therapy has not improved to the baseline level or ≤ grade 1; 9. Suffering from any of the following heart diseases: 1. New York Heart Association (NYHA) stage III or IV congestive heart failure; 2. Myocardial infarction or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) within 6 months before enrollment; 3. Clinically significant ventricular arrhythmia, or history of syncope of unknown origin (caused by vasovagal except those caused by neurosis or dehydration); 4. History of severe non-ischemic cardiomyopathy; 10. Patients with active autoimmune disease, or other patients requiring long-term immunosuppressive therapy; 11. Suffering from other uncured malignant tumors in the past 3 years or at the same time, except cervical carcinoma in situ and basal cell carcinoma of the skin; 12. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) positive and peripheral blood hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA titer is greater than the normal range; hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody positive and peripheral blood hepatitis C Virus (HCV) RNA test is greater than the normal range; human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody positive; syphilis test positive; 13. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding; 14. Other investigators deem it unsuitable to participate in the study.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Shandong Second Provincial General Hospital

    Jinan, Shandong, 250000, China

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