Engineered immune cells take on childhood leukemia in new trial
NCT ID NCT04276870
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 2 trial is testing a personalized cell therapy called CART19 in children and young adults with certain high-risk forms of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). The therapy uses the patient's own immune cells, which are modified in a lab to recognize and attack cancer cells. The study aims to see if this treatment can improve event-free survival—meaning keeping the cancer from coming back—in patients who have limited options.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- CART19 cells (a type of CAR T-cell therapy made from the patient's own immune cells)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a powerful treatment option for children with aggressive or relapsed B-ALL who have few alternatives.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-stage trial with a relatively small number of participants. CAR T-cell therapy can cause severe side effects like cytokine release syndrome, and long-term outcomes are still being studied.
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 133 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2020
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2037
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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0 to 29 years
- 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: 1. Signed informed consent form must be obtained prior to any study procedure. 2. Male and female patients with documented CD19+ B-ALL a.Cohort A \& B: Patients, regardless their response to initial or relapsed B ALL therapy, with the following characteristics: i.Cohort A: Subjects with confirmation of a hypodiploid karyotype (chromosome number fewer than 45) ii.Cohort B: Subjects with cytogenetic confirmation of the chromosomal translocation t(17;19) (Cohort B) b.Cohort C: Infants w/ newly diagnosed KMT2A rearranged B-ALL classified as very high risk by the following criteria: i.Age \< 3 months at diagnosis ii.Age \< 6 months and WBC \> 300,000x109/L at diagnosis or a poor prednisone response in induction iii.MRD positive \> 0.01 (or PCR \> 104) after 2 courses of standard infant ALL therapy. c.Cohort D: Subjects in a first or greater CNS relapse, prior to therapy with cranial XRT or HSCT for the current relapse 3. Documentation of CD19 tumor expression in bone marrow, peripheral blood, CSF, or tumor tissue. 4. Age 0 to 29 years 5. Adequate organ function defined as: 1. A serum creatinine based on age/gender as follows: Maximum Serum Creatinine (mg/dL) Age Male Female 0 to \< 2 years 0.6 0.6 2 to \< 6 years 0.8 0.8 6 to \< 10 years 1.0 1.0 10 to \< 13 years 1.2 1.2 13 to \< 16 years 1.5 1.4 ≥ 16 years 1.7 1.4 2. Adequate liver function: i.ALT≤ 5 x ULN; ALT ii.Total bilirubin ≤ 3 x ULN iii.ALT and/or bilirubin results that exceed this range are acceptable if, in the opinion of the physician-investigator (or as confirmed by liver biopsy), the abnormalities are directly related to ALL infiltration of the liver. c.Must have a minimum level of pulmonary reserve defined as ≤ Grade 1 dyspnea and \< Grade 3 hypoxia; DLCO ≥ 40% (corrected for anemia) if PFTs are clinically appropriate as determined by the physician-investigator. d.Left Ventricular Shortening Fraction (LVSF) ≥ 28%, or Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) ≥ 45% by echocardiogram. In cases where quanitative assessment of LVSF/LVEF is not possible, a statement by the cardiologist that the ECHO shows qualititatively normal ventricular function wll suffice. 6. Adequate performance status defined as Lansky or Karnofsky score ≥ 50 7. Subjects of reproductive potential must agree to use acceptable birth control methods Exclusion Criteria: 1. For subjects with a CNS relapse, prior cranial XRT or BMT for the current relapse is an exclusion. 2. Active hepatitis B or active hepatitis C. 3. HIV Infection. 4. Active acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) requiring systemic therapy. 5. Concurrent use of systemic steroids at the time of cell infusion or cell collection, or a condition, in the treating physician's opinion, that is likely to require steroid therapy during collection or after infusion. Steroids for disease treatment at times other than cell collection or at the time of infusion are permitted. Use of physiologic replacement hydrocortisone or inhaled steroids is permitted as well. 6. CNS3 disease that is progressive on therapy, or with CNS parenchymal lesions that might increase the risk of CNS toxicity. 7. Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women. 8. Uncontrolled active infection.
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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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Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Fighting fat to fight leukemia: could a diet and exercise plan boost chemo?
- Can a new combo drug tame childhood leukemia that Won't quit?
- Can donor immune cells be engineered to fight blood cancer?
- Can a Chemo-Antibody combo beat a tough leukemia?
- Personalized chemo dosing may boost leukemia remission in kids