Engineered immune cells take aim at childhood liver cancers

NCT ID NCT04634357

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
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
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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 06, 2026 · Last updated Jul 07, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This trial investigates a new cell therapy called ET140203 T cells for children and young adults (ages 1–21) with certain liver cancers—hepatoblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, or related tumors—that have come back or not responded to standard treatment. Participants must have high levels of a protein called AFP and a specific immune marker (HLA-A2). The study aims to find a safe dose and check whether the therapy can shrink tumors.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
ET140203 T cells (a type of immune cell therapy)
What this could lead to
If successful, this could offer a new treatment option for children with liver cancers that have not responded to standard therapies.
What could go wrong
This is an early-phase trial with only 12 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The therapy may cause side effects or fail to shrink tumors.

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 1/2

Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.

Participants

About 12 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jul 2022

Expected to finish

Jan 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

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

1 year to 21 years

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. Histologically confirmed HB, HCN-NOS, or HCC with serum AFP \>100ng/mL at the time of screening and following the most recent line of therapy. 2. Disease recurrence after remission following initial standard-of care (SOC) treatment (i.e., relapse) or failure of response to SOC treatment (i.e., refractory). 3. Age ≥ 1 year and ≤ 21 years. 4. Molecular Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class I allele typing that confirms subject carries at least one HLA-A2 allele. 5. Life expectancy of \> 4 months per the Investigator's opinion. 6. Lansky or Karnofsky Performance Scale ≥ 70. 7. For enrollment to the dose-finding cohort, subjects must have at least one (1) lesion ≥ 5 mm in diameter or two (2) or more lesions ≥ 3 mm in diameter. For the dose-expansion cohort, subjects must have measurable disease by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1. 8. Child-Pugh score of A6 or better. 9. Adequate organ function. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Recurrent HB who are candidates for complete surgical resection (e.g., isolated pulmonary relapse amendable to pulmonary metastasectomy). 2. Pre-existing illness including heart failure, uncontrolled pulmonary disease not cancer-related, or psychiatric illness/social situation that would limit compliance with study requirements. 3. Active, uncontrolled systemic bacterial, fungal, or viral infection. Subjects with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), hepatitis B, or hepatitis C are eligible provided their infection is being treated and the viral load is controlled. 4. Any known active malignancy (other than HB, HCN-NOS, or HCC). 5. Pregnant or lactating women. 6. Received the following within one (1) week of leukapheresis or within two (2) weeks of conditioning chemotherapy: cytotoxic chemotherapy, radiation, other anti-cancer therapies (including immunotherapeutic agents), or immunosuppressive therapy. Systemic corticosteroids at doses greater than 5 mg/day of prednisone or equivalent doses of other corticosteroids within two (2) weeks prior to leukapheresis or conditioning chemotherapy or receipt of a T-cell engager (TCE) within two (2) months prior to leukapheresis or at any time as bridging therapy between leukapheresis and conditioning chemotherapy is exclusionary. (Note: Topical and inhaled corticosteroids in standard doses and physiological replacement doses of corticosteroids for adrenal insufficiency are allowed). 7. Concurrently receiving other investigational agents, biological, chemical, or radiation therapies, while participating in the study. 8. Contraindication for receipt of conditioning chemotherapeutic agents including Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide. 9. Active autoimmune disease requiring systemic immunosuppressive therapy. 10. Compromised circulation in the main portal vein, hepatic vein, or vena cava due to partial or complete obstruction which, in the opinion of the Investigator, would make the subject unsuitable for the study. 11. History of organ transplant. 12. HB, HCN-NOS, or HCC involving greater than 50% of the liver (volumetric).

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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.

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    4 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Children's Hospital Los Angeles

    RECRUITING

    Los Angeles, California, 90027, United States

  • Children's Hospital Orange County

    RECRUITING

    Orange, California, 92868, United States

  • Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center

    RECRUITING

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

  • UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals

    RECRUITING

    San Francisco, California, 94158, United States

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