Supercharged immune cells take on bile duct cancer in early trial
NCT ID NCT07614061
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This early-phase study tests a new cell therapy for people with advanced biliary tract cancer (bile duct or gallbladder cancer) that has not responded to standard treatments. The therapy uses the patient's own immune T cells, enhanced with a protein called CD160 to better target cancer cells, given after a short chemotherapy course. The main goals are to check safety and find the right dose, with only 18 participants enrolled so far.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- CD160-enhanced autologous antigen-specific T cells (BTC-Ag-T, ACH-AgT001) plus lymphodepletion chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide and fludarabine)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a new treatment option for advanced biliary tract cancer that has stopped responding to standard therapies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early Phase 1 trial with only 18 participants, so safety and effectiveness are not yet proven. There are risks of serious side effects like cytokine release syndrome and low blood cell counts.
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 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 18 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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May 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2029
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.
Major Inclusion Criteria: Subjects must meet all of the following criteria to be enrolled: 1\. Age \- Age ≥ 18 years at the time of signing informed consent. 2. Diagnosis * Histologically or cytologically confirmed biliary tract malignancy (intrahepatic, perihilar, or distal extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, or gallbladder cancer). 3\. Disease status * Locally advanced unresectable or metastatic disease 4. Prior systemic therapy * Patients (including those with refractory BTC and those with postoperative recurrence) must have received prior gemcitabine-based chemotherapy in combination with a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor. 5\. Measurable disease * At least one measurable lesion per RECIST v1.1 at baseline imaging. * Sufficient viable tumor tissue from biopsy for antigen-presenting tumor cell (APTC) manufacturing 6. Adequate venous access and overall condition to tolerate leukapheresis. 7. Washout and lymphocyte recovery before leukapheresis 8. ECOG performance status 0 or 1 9. Organ function * Hematology (no growth-factor support or transfusion within 5 days of testing, unless otherwise stated): ANC ≥ 1.0 × 10⁹/L; platelets ≥ 75 × 10⁹/L; hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL (transfusion to reach this threshold is permitted). * Hepatic: total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 × ULN (≤ 3.0 × ULN allowed for documented Gilbert syndrome); AST and ALT ≤ 5.0 × ULN. * Renal: serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 × ULN, or estimated creatinine clearance (e.g., Cockcroft-Gault) ≥ 40 mL/min. * Adequate cardiopulmonary reserve to tolerate lymphodepleting conditioning and cell infusion in the investigator's judgment. 10\. Viral serology * No evidence of uncontrolled active viral infection. * HIV-1/2 negative. * Hepatitis B: HBV DNA is negative. * Hepatitis C: HCV RNA is negative. 11. Contraception * Women of childbearing potential and men whose partners are of childbearing potential must agree to use highly effective contraception from the time of informed consent through at least 12 months after BTC-Ag-T infusion (or longer if required by local regulation). 12\. Pregnancy status * Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test at screening. 13\. Informed consent * Able to understand and willing to sign a written informed consent document, and willing to comply with study procedures. Exclusion Criteria: Subjects who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded: 1. Mixed/combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma, ampullary carcinoma, and other histologies not consistent with BTC 2. Prior allogeneic transplant or recent gene-modified cell therapy 3. Active CNS metastases 4. Patients with uncontrolled or high-risk active infection are excluded, including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and active tuberculosis (TB). 5. Active autoimmune disease requiring systemic immunosuppression 6. Significant cardiovascular disease 7. Significant pulmonary disease 8. Severe hepatic decompensation 9. Active variceal bleeding, or recent life-threatening portal-hypertension complications that cannot be stably controlled. 10. Another primary malignancy within the past 3 years, except: tumors treated with curative intent and at low risk of recurrence (e.g., adequately treated basal- or squamous-cell skin cancer, in-situ cervical cancer, or low-Gleason localized prostate cancer, occult thyroid carcinoma). 11. Severe hypersensitivity. 12. Pregnant or lactating women 13. Concurrent participation in another interventional study 14. Any other condition that, in the investigator's judgment, renders the patient unsuitable for enrollment.
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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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Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University
RECRUITINGShanghai, 200032, China
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can Long-Term tucatinib use remain safe for HER2-Positive cancers?
- Can an immunotherapy combo turn inoperable gallbladder cancer into a surgical success?
- Can matching drugs to tumor genes beat biliary cancer?
- Can freezing tumors boost immunotherapy in hard-to-treat bile duct cancers?