CClinicalTrials.gg
TerminatedNCT05623488Updated Aug 12, 2025

CAR T Cells in Mesothelin-Expressing Breast Cancer

A Phase 1 interventional study of huCART-meso cells and Mesothelin Expression Testing in Breast Cancer, sponsored by University of Pennsylvania. Terminated at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-12.

Sponsored by University of Pennsylvania · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
Feasibility Concerns

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Apr 2025, 1 year 6 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
2
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Phase 1 - Safety and Proof of Concept

Read the detailed description

This is a phase I study to establish the safety and feasibility of lentiviral transduced CAR T cell products in patients with mesothelin expressing breast cancer. This study will be initiated as a single cohort, however the study is designed to allow for additional disease indications and other investigational CAR T cell products to be explored as separate cohorts under this protocol in the future.

Cohort 1: Cohort 1 will evaluate the use of huCART-meso cells delivered intratumorally in patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) which is positive for mesothelin expression by IHC. Eligible subjects must also have an accessible lesion that can be targeted for both intratumoral injection and surgical excision/biopsy by either a surgeon or interventional radiology.

02

Conditions studied

  • Breast Cancer

Browse trials for

03

In context

Breast Neoplasms

12,544 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Neoplasms; 2,892 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 2 is below the median of 72 across 9,303 interventional studies indexed under Breast Neoplasms.

Browse Breast Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Pennsylvania is the lead sponsor of 1,635 studies on the registry; 239 are open to participants now.

Of its 154 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 104 (68%) have results posted.

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

Inclusion criteria

  1. Patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer as confirmed by all of the following:

    1. ER-negative or low-ER positive (≤ 10% by IHC)
    2. PR-negative or low-PR positive (≤ 10% by IHC)
    3. HER2 negative by IHC/FISH
  2. Patients with an accessible lesion that can be targeted for both intratumoral injection and surgical excision/biopsy by either a surgeon or interventional radiology.
  3. Confirmed tumor mesothelin expression by ≥ 10% of malignant cells by IHC.
  4. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1.
  5. Adequate organ and bone marrow function defined as:

    1. Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 x ULN
    2. Serum Creatinine ≤ 1.5 x ULN
    3. ALT/AST ≤ 3 x ULN
    4. Must have a minimum level of pulmonary reserve defined as ≤ Grade 1 dyspnea and pulse oxygen > 92% on room air
    5. Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction (LVEF) ≥ 45% confirmed by echocardiogram
  6. Male and female patients ≥ 18 years of age.
  7. Provides written informed consent.
  8. Subjects of reproductive potential must agree to use acceptable birth control methods

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Active invasive cancer other than the study-targeted malignancy.
  2. Evidence of active hepatitis B or hepatitis C. The following would not qualify as an active infection, thus would not exclude the subject from participating:

    1. Positive HBV serology with undetectable viral load and ongoing antiviral prophylaxis for potential HBV reactivation.
    2. Positive HCV serology with quantitative PCR for plasma HCV RNA below the lower limit of detection, with or without concurrent antiviral HCV treatment.
  3. Patients with ongoing or active infection.
  4. Active autoimmune disease requiring systemic immunosuppressive treatment equivalent to ≥ 10 mg/day of prednisone. Patients with autoimmune neurologic diseases (such as MS) will be excluded.
  5. Planned concurrent treatment with systemic high dose corticosteroids. Patients may be on a stable low dose of steroids (≤ 10mg daily equivalent of prednisone). Use of inhaled or topical steroids is allowable.
  6. History of allergy or hypersensitivity to study product excipients (human serum albumin, DMSO, and Dextran 40).
  7. Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  8. Any clinically significant pericardial effusion, Class II-IV cardiovascular disability according to the New York Heart Association Classification or other cardiovascular condition that would preclude assessment of mesothelin induced pericarditis or that may worsen as a result of toxicities expected for this study. This determination will be made by a cardiologist if cardiac issues are suspected.
  9. Patients with significant lung disease as follows:

    1. Patients with radiographic evidence of greater than lobar lymphangitic pulmonary involvement, greater than lobar bronchial wall thickening suggestive of peribronchial lymphatic disease extension, and/or evidence of extensive bilateral parenchymal metastatic burden.
    2. Patients with radiographic and/or clinical evidence of active radiation pneumonitis.
    3. Patients with radiographic evidence of underlying interstitial lung disease, including evidence of unresolved drug toxicity from any agent (e.g. chemotherapy, targeted agents, amiodarone, nitrofurantoin, etc).
  10. Patients with active central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Screening for this (e.g. lumbar puncture, brain MRI, etc) is not required unless the patient is symptomatic and/or radiographic findings are present.
  11. Patient has prior/ongoing treatment that will not accommodate washout requirements for immune checkpoint inhibitors as described in the protocol.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Sequential assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
2 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Dose Level 1

    3.00 x 10\^7 CAR T cells administered intratumoral

    Drug: huCART-meso cells · Device: Mesothelin Expression Testing

  • Experimental
    Dose Level -1

    3.00 x 10\^6 CAR T cells administered intratumoral

    Drug: huCART-meso cells · Device: Mesothelin Expression Testing

Interventions

  • DrughuCART-meso cells

    Autologous T cells lentivirally transduced with chimeric anti-mesothelin immunoreceptor M5 scFv fused to the 4-1BB and CD3ζ signaling domains

  • DeviceMesothelin Expression Testing

    Laboratory Developed Test

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Occurrence of treatment-limiting toxicities (TLTs)

    Time frame: 90 days

  2. Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events as assessed by CTCAE v5.0.

    Time frame: 15 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. Proportion of manufacturing product that do not meet the release criteria.

    Time frame: 60 days

  2. Proportion of the products that meet the target dose.

    Time frame: 60 days

  3. Proportion of enrolled subjects that receive study treatment.

    Time frame: 60 days

  4. Proportion of eligible subjects that receive study treatment

    Time frame: 60 days

  5. Proportion of subjects for which standard of care treatment is not impacted due to CAR T cell related toxicity.

    Time frame: 90 days

  6. Kinetics of expansion and persistence of infused cells by flow cytometry.

    Time frame: 90 days

  7. Kinetics of expansion and persistence of infused cells by quantitative PCR.

    Time frame: 90 days

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

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 Aug 12, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05623488
Lead sponsor
University of Pennsylvania
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 21, 2022
Start date
Feb 6, 2023
Primary completion
Apr 7, 2025
Completion
Apr 7, 2025
Last update
Aug 12, 2025

Study contacts

Julia Tchou, MD, PhD
principal investigator · University of Pennsylvania

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is terminated, as verified in Aug 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion