Engineered t cells take on childhood liver cancer in first human test

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

Procurement Eligibility Inclusion Criteria: * Relapsed or refractory GPC3-positive\* solid tumors (currently only enrolling liver tumors) * Age ≥ 1 year and ≤ 21 years * Lansky or Karnofsky score ≥60% * Life expectancy ≥16 weeks * Child-Pugh-Turcotte score \<7 (for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma only) * Informed consent explained to, understood by and signed by patient/guardian. Patient/guardian given copy of informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * History of hypersensitivity reactions to murine protein-containing products OR presence of human anti-mouse antibody (HAMA) prior to enrollment (only patients who have received prior therapy with murine antibodies) * History of organ transplantation * Known HIV positivity * Active bacterial, fungal or viral infection (except Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C virus infections) * Severe previous toxicity from cyclophosphamide or fludarabine Treatment Eligibility Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥ 1 year and ≤ 21 years * Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Stage A, B or C (for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma only) * Life expectancy of ≥ 12 weeks * Lansky or Karnofsky score ≥ 60% * Child-Pugh-Turcotte score \< 7 (for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma only) * Adequate organ function: * Creatinine clearance as estimated by Cockcroft Gault or Schwartz ≥ 60 ml/min * serum AST\< 5 times ULN * total bilirubin \< 3 times ULN for age * INR ≤1.7 (for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma only) * absolute neutrophil count \> 500/microliter * platelet count \> 25,000/microliter (can be transfused) * Hgb ≥7.0 g/dl (can be transfused) * pulse oximetry \>90% on room air * Recovered from acute toxic effects of all prior chemotherapy and investigational agents before entering this study * Sexually active patients must be willing to utilize one of the more effective birth control methods for 3 months after the T-cell infusion. * Informed consent explained to, understood by and signed by patient/guardian. Patient/guardian given copy of informed consent Exclusion Criteria * Pregnancy or lactation * Uncontrolled infection * Systemic steroid treatment (greater than or equal to 0.5 mg prednisone equivalent/kg/day, dose adjustment or discontinuation of medication must occur at least 24 hours prior to CAR T cell infusion) * Known HIV positivity * Active bacterial, fungal or viral infection (except Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C virus infections) * History of organ transplantation * History of hypersensitivity reactions to murine protein-containing products OR presence of human anti-mouse antibody (HAMA) prior to enrollment (only patients who have received prior therapy with murine antibodies) * Severe previous toxicity from cyclophosphamide or fludarabine GPC3 expression will be evaluated by standard immunohistochemistry (IHC). A tumor is considered GPC3 positive, when the staining is Grade 2 (\>25% positive tumor cells) or above with an intensity score of 2 or above on a scale of 0 to 4.