Engineered virus targets Hard-to-Treat cancers from the inside
NCT ID NCT07697937
First seen Jul 13, 2026 · Last updated Jul 14, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests an experimental therapy called YH02, a genetically modified virus designed to infect and destroy cancer cells. It is given as an injection directly into tumors in people with advanced solid tumors (such as head and neck cancer, breast cancer, or melanoma) that have stopped responding to standard treatments. The goal is to see if the virus can shrink tumors or slow their growth. Early safety results from a smaller study were encouraging, with no serious side effects reported.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- YH02 injection (a genetically modified oncolytic virus)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a new treatment option for people with advanced solid tumors who have run out of standard therapies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a Phase 2 trial with only 50 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The virus is injected directly into tumors, which may limit its effect on cancer that has spread.
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
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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: * Age: ≥18 years. * Resectable malignant solid tumors confirmed by histology or cytology (including head and neck cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, cervical cancer, skin malignancies, salivary gland carcinoma, oropharyngeal carcinoma, etc.) should prioritize treatment options for head and neck cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma. * After complete failure of standard treatment (disease progression or intolerance to therapy) and in the absence of effective therapeutic options. * There must be at least one measurable lesion (according to the RECIST 1.1 criteria), and the lesion must be suitable for intratumoral injection. * ECOG score ≤2. * The expected survival period is ≥12 weeks. * The subject must demonstrate adequate hematological and organ function, with all laboratory parameters evaluated within 7 days prior to the initial administration and meeting the following criteria: Hematologic system (no recent transfusion or hematopoietic stimulation therapy within 14 days): ANC ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L; PLT ≥ 80 × 10⁹/L; Hemoglobin (Hb) ≥ 85 g/L; Liver function: Total bilirubin (TBIL) ≤ 2 × upper limit of normal (ULN) (≤ 3.0 × ULN for patients with Gilbert syndrome or liver metastases/hepatocellular carcinoma); Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 × ULN; For patients with liver metastases or hepatocellular carcinoma: ALT ≤ 5 × ULN; Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 2.5 × ULN; Albumin ≥ 2.8 g/dL; Renal function: Creatinine ≤ 1.5 × ULN; or Creatinine clearance (Ccr) ≥ 30 mL/min (calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault formula, only when creatinine\> 1.5 × ULN); Coagulation function: Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN; International normalized ratio (INR) or Prothrombin time (PT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN. * The subject has voluntarily signed an informed consent form and demonstrates good compliance. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients had received antitumor therapy for the first time within 4 weeks prior to initial administration, including endocrine therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or traditional Chinese medicine-based antitumor treatment; or had participated in other clinical trials within 4 weeks before enrollment. Development of any other malignant tumor other than the study tumor within 5 years prior to first use of the investigational drug, excluding locally advanced cancers that have been completely cured or are disease-free for at least 5 consecutive years, such as basal or squamous cell skin cancer, superficial bladder cancer, prostate carcinoma in situ, cervical carcinoma in situ, or breast ductal carcinoma in situ. * The adverse effects of previous antitumor treatments have not yet been classified as Grade ≤1 on the NCI CTCAE v5.0 grading scale (excluding toxicities such as alopecia and grade 2 neurotoxicity induced by prior platinum-based therapy, which researchers consider to pose no safety risks). * Receiving systemic glucocorticoids (prednisone\>10 mg/day or equivalent doses of similar agents) or other immunosuppressive therapies within 2 weeks prior to initial use of the study drug, excluding the following: topical, ocular, intra-articular, intranasal, or inhaled glucocorticoid therapy; short-term (≤1 week) prophylactic use of glucocorticoids (e.g., for contrast agent allergy) or for treatment of non-autoimmune diseases (e.g., delayed hypersensitivity reactions induced by contact allergens). * Immuno-modulatory drugs, including but not limited to thymosin, IL-2, and interferon (IFN), were administered within 2 weeks prior to the first administration of the study drug. * A syndrome characterized by clinically significant autoimmune diseases (excluding well-controlled hypothyroidism). Patients with vitiligo, type 1 diabetes mellitus, or psoriasis who do not require systemic treatment and have no history of recurrence in the absence of external triggers are eligible for inclusion. * A live attenuated vaccine was administered within 4 weeks prior to the first use of the study drug. * Has previously received oncolytic virus therapy or other gene-based therapies. * Patients had undergone major surgical procedures or suffered severe trauma within 4 weeks prior to enrollment, or were expected to undergo significant surgery during the study period; furthermore, before the first administration of the investigational drug, all adverse events (AEs) related to surgery or major trauma had not resolved to CTCAE level ≤1 or baseline levels. * Patients with clinical manifestations of CNS metastasis or meningeal metastasis, or other evidence indicating that the patient's CNS or meningeal metastatic lesions are not under control, shall be deemed unsuitable for enrollment by the investigator. Patients with clinical symptoms suggestive of brain or meningeal disease require computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. * For patients with previously treated brain metastases, inclusion may be considered if their clinical condition is stable within 4 weeks prior to enrollment, there is no evidence of new lesions or lesion progression, and they have not received glucocorticoid therapy within 1 week before the first administration. * Has a medical history of leptomeningitis. * Patients with a history or evidence of high-risk cardiovascular disease are eligible, including but not limited to: severe cardiac rhythm or conduction abnormalities (e.g., ventricular arrhythmias requiring clinical intervention, grade II-III atrioventricular block), a Fridericia formula-corrected QT interval (QTcF) ≥ 470 msec; acute coronary syndrome (including acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina), stroke, or other grade 3 or higher cardiovascular events occurring within 6 months prior to first administration; stent implantation within 6 months before initial use of the study drug; congestive heart failure classified as grade ≥ II according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA) criteria; echocardiographic findings of valvular morphological abnormalities (grade ≥ 2); note: patients with grade 1 valvular morphological abnormalities (e.g., mild regurgitation/stenosis) may be enrolled, but those with moderate valve thickening are excluded; left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \<the institutional lower limit (or LVEF \<50% if no such limit exists); or poorly controlled blood pressure despite antihypertensive therapy (i.e., systolic blood pressure ≥ 160 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 100 mm Hg). * Virological tests: Positive for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg); positive for hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) with hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level\> upper limit of detection (ULN); positive for hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV-Ab) with hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA level\> ULN; positive for anti-human immunodeficiency virus antibody (Anti-HIV). Meeting any of the above criteria. * Had an active infection requiring systemic treatment (intravenous administration) within 2 weeks prior to the first use of the investigational drug, excluding local treatments. Patients known to have allergic reactions to any component of the YH02 injection formulation. * Individuals with known mental disorders that may affect research compliance or substance abuse. * Patients who have undergone or plan to undergo organ transplantation (e.g., liver transplantation). * Patients who, according to the investigators' assessment, have other severe systemic diseases, abnormal laboratory findings, or other reasons that make them unsuitable for participation in this clinical 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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Tianjin First Central Hospital
RECRUITINGTianjin, 300192, China
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