ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT05268172Updated May 16, 2024

IFN-γ Combined With T Cells in the Treatment of Refractory Malignant Pleural Effusion and Ascites

A Phase 1 interventional study of IFN-γ and CIK cells, Tcm cells or CAR T cells in Pleural Effusion, Malignant, sponsored by Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University. Recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-05-16.

Sponsored by Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Dec 2024, 1 year 10 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started Dec 2022; still recruiting 3 years 10 months later.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of IFN- Y combined with T cells in the treatment of refractory malignant pleural effusion and acties, using a multicenter, single-arm, open design.

Read the detailed description

Malignant pleural effusion is a common complication of malignant tumor, which usually indicates that the patient has reached the advanced stage, and about 30-40% of the patients are stubborn and refractory cases. The lack of standard therapeutic drugs and protocols in clinical practice seriously affects the anti-tumor treatment effect, quality of life and survival time of patients, and the prognosis is poor. IFN-γ can significantly induce the high expression of the costimulatory molecule ICAM-1 on tumor cells, thereby enhancing the killing of TUMOR cells by T cells. Moreover, IFN-γ can enhance the activity of CAR T cells in the presence of PD-L1-PD-1 pathway, and significantly improve the therapeutic effect of T cells on solid tumors. IFN-γ is an approved clinical treatment with known side effects and well-established symptomatic treatment. Although CIK is not a clinically approved drug, it has been used on a large scale in China with good safety and has entered the medical insurance of some provinces and cities. Tcm is an improved CIK cell and has good safety. Many clinical studies have been carried out, and no serious toxic and side effects have been observed.

02

Conditions studied

  • Pleural Effusion, Malignant
03

In context

Pleural Effusion, Malignant

169 studies on the registry are indexed under Pleural Effusion, Malignant; 39 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 55 across 125 interventional studies indexed under Pleural Effusion, Malignant.

Browse Pleural Effusion, Malignant studies →

Lead sponsor

Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University is the lead sponsor of 28 studies on the registry; 11 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Male or female patients: ≥18 years old;
  2. Gastric cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma and other tumors confirmed by histology or cytology. The guidelines recommend entry to clinical trials in accordance with the standard treatment progression recommended by each disease guideline;
  3. According to criteria, the patient should have at least one target lesion with measurable diameter line (tumor lesion CT scan length ≥10 mm, lymph node lesion CT scan short diameter ≥15 mm, scan thickness ≥ 5 mm); Or an unevaluable lesion, including but not limited to pleural effusion, bone , etc;
  4. physical condition score: 0-3;
  5. Estimated survival ≥3 months;
  6. Good function of major organs, that is, relevant examination indexes within the first 14 days of randomization meet the following requirements:(1)Routine blood test: 1) ≥ 90 g/L (no blood transfusion within 14 days); 2) > 1.5×109/L; 3) count ≥ 90×109/L; (2)Biochemical examination: 1)Total ≤ 1.5× (upper limit of normal value); 2)Serum (ALT) or AST ≤ 2.5×ULN; ALT or AST ≤ 5×ULN if liver metastasis was present; 3)Endogenous ≥ 60 mL /min (Cockcroft-Gault formula); (3)Cardiac Doppler ultrasound assessment: (LVEF) ≥ 50%;
  7. Signed ;
  8. Good compliance, family members agreed to cooperate with survival follow-up.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Participated in clinical trials of other drugs within four weeks;
  2. Patients have a history of other tumors, except cervical carcinoma in situ, treated squamous cell carcinoma or bladder epithelial tumor (Ta and TIS), or other malignant tumors that have received radical treatment (at least 5 years prior to enrollment);
  3. Patients with cardiac clinical symptoms or diseases that are not well controlled, such as grade 2 or above heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, myocardial infarction within 1 year, and ventricular or ventricular arrhythmias requiring treatment or intervention;
  4. For female subjects: surgically sterilized, , or have agreed to use a medically approved during study treatment and for 6 months after the study treatment period; Serum or urine pregnancy tests must be negative during the 7 days prior to study enrollment and must be non-lactation. Male subjects: patients who are surgically sterilized or who have agreed to use a medically approved contraceptive during and for 6 months after the study treatment period;
  5. Patients with active tuberculosis, bacterial or fungal infection (grade ≥2 of NCI-CTC, 3rd edition); Have infection, infection, infection;
  6. Those who have a history of psychotropic drug abuse and cannot get rid of it or have mental disorders;
  7. The subject has any active disease or a history of autoimmune disease (e.g., but not limited to: interstitial pneumonia, uveitis, enteritis, hepatitis, hypophysitis, nephritis, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism); Subjects with vitiligo or asthma in complete remission during childhood without any intervention as adults could be included; Subjects with asthma requiring medical intervention with bronchodilators were excluded);
  8. According to the judgment of the researcher, there are serious concomitant diseases that endanger the patient's safety or affect the patient's ability to complete the study.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(20)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

iRECIST and mRECIST

Versions of RECIST adapted to particular cases. iRECIST is for immunotherapy, where a tumour can look bigger for a while before it shrinks, so growth has to be confirmed on a later scan. mRECIST usually means the version for liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), which measures only the part of a tumour that still has a blood supply.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction)

The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

Postmenopausal

Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
40 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    IFN- Y combined with T cells

    First, IFN-γ was combined with CIK cells. After three failed treatments, the CIK cells were replaced with T cells. After three failed treatments, CART cells were finally replaced.

    Drug: IFN-γ and CIK cells, Tcm cells or CAR T cells

Interventions

  • DrugIFN-γ and CIK cells, Tcm cells or CAR T cells

    A 50ng/ mL IFN-γ solution was prepared, and the required volume of IFN-γ solution was calculated according to the final concentration of 5ng/ mL according to the volume of pleural fluid or ascites of the patient. CIK cells were injected 1.0-2.0×109 on the second day and review three days later.T cells and CAR T cells were selected sequentially according to the re-examination of pleural fluid or ascites.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Puncture-free Survival (PuFS)

    Puncture-free Survival (PuFS) is a clinical endpoint used to measure the time duration during which a patient with a condition like malignant ascites or malignant pleural effusion remains free from needing a puncture procedure

    Time frame: Focusing on the time from the end of the T Cells treatment procedure to the next required drainage or death

Secondary outcomes

  1. Disease control rate

    Proportion of patients who had a best response rating of complete response, partial response, or stable disease

    Time frame: The tumor shrinks or stabilizes for a certain period of time,Lasts at least 4 weeks

  2. Objective response rate

    Total response and partial response ratio

    Time frame: 8 weeks

  3. Molecular markers for efficacy prediction

    Prediction effect

    Time frame: 8 weeks

  4. Overall survival

    The last follow-up time of the lost patient; Patients who were still alive at the end of the study were at the end of follow-up

    Time frame: From the time of diagnosis of tumor to death from any cause,From initiation of study treatment until date of death from any cause, up to 100 months

  5. Progression-free survival

    From time of treatment to time of disease progression or death

    Time frame: From time of treatment to time of disease progression or death from any cause as assessed by the investigator at each treatment period

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — The associated efficacy is uncertain

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 16, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05268172
Lead sponsor
Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University
Collaborators
Sichuan University, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hunan Cancer Hospital, West China Hospital, Wuxi People's Hospital, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 7, 2022
Start date
Dec 20, 2022
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2024 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 30, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
May 16, 2024

Study contacts

liu quan, doctor
Contact
Quanliu.lq@outlook.com
15995299079
jiang li qing, postgraduate
Contact
jjiangliq@163.com
15261479578
quan liu, doctor
principal investigator · Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University
liu quan, doctor
study director · Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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