New combo therapy aims to beat back relapsed leukemia after transplant
NCT ID NCT06529731
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Aug 12, 2026 · Updated 5 times
Summary
This phase 2 trial tests whether combining interferon-gamma (a protein that boosts the immune system) with donor immune cells can help patients whose acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes have returned after a stem cell transplant. The study will enroll 45 adults and measure how long they stay free of relapse or death. Researchers will also study leukemia cells before and after treatment to understand how the therapy works.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Interferon gamma-1b (a protein that boosts immune activity) and donor leukocyte infusion (immune cells from the original stem cell donor)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this combination could offer a new treatment option for patients whose leukemia returns after a stem cell transplant, potentially improving survival without the need for additional intensive chemotherapy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small phase 2 trial with only 45 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The treatment may cause side effects like flu-like symptoms or worsen graft-versus-host disease, and it may not work for all patients.
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 57 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2024
- Expected to finish
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Oct 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.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age ≥ 18 years 2. Recipients of an alloSCT for AML or MDS from a minimally 8/8 HLA-matched donor (Cohort 1: HLA -matched alloSCT recipients) or recipients of a haploidentical donor SCT for AML or MDS from a minimally 4/8 HLA-matched donor (Cohort 2: Haplo-SCT recipients) 3. AML/MDS relapsed post-alloSCT with measurable residual disease defined by either of the following criteria: 1. At least 5% or more myeloblasts based on bone marrow biopsy morphology by pathologist review. Abnormal myeloblasts cannot not exceed 30% overall 36 2. At least 0.1% of abnormal myeloblasts with a leukemia-associated immunophenotype (LAIP) by multiparameter flow cytometry. The abnormal cells with LAIP should not exceed 30% of nucleated cells. 3. Recurrent or persistent cytogenetic abnormalities detectable by FISH or karyotype analysis. 4. For patients with mutant NPM1, at least 1,000 mutant transcript copies per 106 ABL or equivalent housekeeping transcripts in bone marrow by qPCR or dPCR 4. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status (PS) 0-2 5. A DLI is available, or the donor is available and agrees to undergo apheresis to collect lymphocytes for infusion 6. If salvage therapy for post-alloSCT relapse was received, the therapy is limited to 1 line of the following: 1. For hypomethylating agents, venetoclax, and targeted therapies (e.g., tyrosine kinase inhibitors, IDH1/IDH2 inhibitors, or FLT3 inhibitors), the last dose must be \> 2 week prior to the initiation of IFN-γ 2. For cytotoxic chemotherapy agents, the last dose must be \>2 weeks prior to start of treatment for the present study 3. For investigational agents, the last dose must be ≥ 4 weeks or 5 half-lives (whichever is longer) prior to the start of treatment for the present study 7. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form 8. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study 9. For female subject, who is \< 55 years old without hysterectomy, oophorectomy or documented menopause, willingness to use two forms of contraception including one form of highly effective contraception (i.e., long-acting reversible contraception, oral contraceptive pills) for the duration of the study 10. For male subject, willingness to use highly effective contraception methods including male condoms by male subject and one form of highly effective contraception by his female partner (i.e., long-acting reversible contraception, oral contraceptive pills) for the duration of the study Exclusion Criteria: 1. Primary engraftment failure after alloSCT 2. Evidence of mixed phenotype leukemia with lymphoid differentiation (Cohort 1: HLA -matched alloSCT recipients) 3. Grade 3 or 4 aGVHD per Mount Sinai Acute GVHD International Consortium (MAGIC) at the time of planned enrollment 4. History of grade 4 aGVHD per the MAGIC criteria 5. Moderate or severe cGVHD per NIH Consensus Criteria at time of planned enrollment 6. Any systemic immunosuppressive medications taken within 2 weeks before the enrollment 7. Grade 3 or higher non-hematologic toxicity related to any prior therapy at the time of enrollment 8. A contraindication to receive IFN-γ including a known hypersensitivity to IFN-γ, E. coli derived products or any other component of the product 9. Positive pregnancy test or currently breastfeeding on Day 1 of study treatment 37 10. Active cardiac arrhythmia not controlled by medical management or current NYHA class II or higher congestive heart failure within 2 months of enrollment unless it was due to a tachyarrhythmia which is under control at the time of enrollment 11. Active ischemic heart disease not controlled with medications within 2 months of enrollment 12. Acute or chronic pulmonary disease requiring continuous oxygen treatment 13. Seizure disorder not controlled by medications within 2 months of enrollment 14. AST or ALT \> 5x ULN or total bilirubin \>3x ULN at time of enrollment 15. Renal function CrCl \<30 mL/min at time of enrollment using modified Cockcroft-Gault formula 16. Detection of HLA loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in relapsed malignant cells. Specifically, there has been a loss of the mismatched set of HLA alleles encoded on chromosome 6 (ie uniparental disomy of chromosome 6), within 30 days prior to enrollment (Cohort 2: Haplo-SCT recipients)
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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
3 sites. 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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Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
RECRUITINGSeattle, Washington, 98109, United States
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UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
RECRUITINGPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15232, United States
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Washington University
RECRUITINGSt Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can adding venetoclax make donor stem cell transplants safer for High-Risk blood cancers?
- Can an HDAC inhibitor wipe out residual leukemia cells?
- Can an experimental pill block a cancer-driving enzyme in hard-to-treat leukemia?
- Two-Drug combo targets leukemia that outsmarted its first treatment
- Tweaking donor cells may shield older transplant patients from a dangerous complication
- Can a drug and donor cells stop leukemia from returning after transplant?