A Phase 1/2 interventional study of GEM/DOX + TGFBi expanded NK cells in Pediatric Sarcoma, Refractory and Pediatric Sarcoma, Relapsed, sponsored by Nationwide Children's Hospital. Recruiting at 22 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 2 Years to 40 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-01-28.
Sponsored by Nationwide Children's Hospital · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment
The purpose of this study is to determine if the addition of infusions of a type of immune cell called a "natural killer", or NK cell to the sarcoma chemotherapy regimen GEM/DOX (gemcitabine and docetaxel) can improve outcomes in people with childhood sarcomas that have relapsed or not responded to prior therapies.
The goals of this study are:
Participants will receive study drugs that include chemotherapy and NK cells in cycles; each cycle is 21 days long and you can receive up to 8 cycles.
This is a multi-center study with rolling safety and toxicity analysis, to determine the safety and efficacy of the addition of adoptive transfer of universal donor, TGFβ imprinted (TGFβi), expanded NK cells to the pediatric sarcoma salvage chemotherapeutic regimen gemcitabine/docetaxel (GEM/DOX) for treatment of relapsed and refractory pediatric sarcomas, identify toxicities related to treatment with GEM/DOX + TGFβi expanded NK cells, and assess in vivo persistence of expanded, universal donor, TGFβi NK cells after adoptive transfer and correlate with clinical outcomes.
The planned therapy will involve 8 cycles of 21 days each consisting of gemcitabine, docetaxel, supportive dexamethasone and peg-filgrastim, and universal donor, TGFβi ex vivo expanded NK cells (Cycles 1-6).
4,279 studies on the registry are indexed under Recurrence; 988 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 50 is close to the median of 50 across 3,374 interventional studies indexed under Recurrence.
Browse Recurrence studies →Nationwide Children's Hospital is the lead sponsor of 231 studies on the registry; 43 are open to participants now.
Of its 16 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 8 (50%) have results posted.
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Prior Therapy: Therapy may not have been received more recently than the timeframes defined below:
4) Performance status: Karnofsky ≥ 60 for patients ≥16 years of age. Lansky score of ≥ 60 for patients \< 16 years of age (see Appendix A) 5) Organ Function Requirements: Patients must have normal organ and marrow function within 7 days of starting protocol therapy as defined below:
Shortening fraction ≥ 27% by ECHO OR ejection fraction of ≥ 50% by ECHO or gated radionuclide study
No evidence for dyspnea at rest, no chronic oxygen requirement, and room air pulse oximetry >94% if there is a clinical indication for pulse oximetry 6) Neuropathy: Patients must have ≤ Grade 2 neuropathy at enrollment 7) Patients with seizure disorders may be enrolled if seizures are well controlled on anti-convulsant, with the exception of diazepam given its potential deleterious effects on NK cell activity.
8) Contraception: The effects of expanded NK cells on the developing human fetus are unknown. For this reason and because the chemotherapeutic preparative agents as well as other therapeutic agents used in this trial are known to be teratogenic, women of child-bearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately. Men treated or enrolled on this protocol must also agree to use adequate contraception prior to the study, for the duration of study participation, and 4 months after completion of preparatory regimen administration.
9) All patients and/or their parents or legal guardians must have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent/assent document.
Exclusion Criteria:
Patients with any of the following "Intermediate" (rarely metastasizing) or "malignant" Grade 2 or Grade 3 tumors of any size, as defined in the WHO Classification of Soft Tissue Tumors are not eligible for this study:
Concomitant Medications:
The following are also prohibited while on study treatment
Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to:
Part 1: Enrollment of 5 patients in each cohort (osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and non-rhabdomyosarcoma). Part 2: Enrollment of 2 cohorts in 2 stages for a total of 40 patients.
Biological: GEM/DOX + TGFBi expanded NK cells
8 cycles consisting of gemcitabine, docetaxel, supportive dexamethasone and pegfilagrastim, and universal donor, TGFBi ex vivo expanded NK cells * Each cycle will be repeated every 21 days based upon disease response and toxicity criteria * Tumor response assessed after Cycles 2, 4, 6, and 8 1. Gemcitabine 675mg/m2/dose IV on Days 1 and 8 2. Docetaxel 75mg/m2/dose IV on Day 8 3. Dexamethasone 3mg/m2/dose (max 8 mg/dose) PO BID on Days 7, 8, and 9 4. Pegfilgrastim (Peg-GCSF) 0.1mg/kg/dose (max 6 mg/dose) SQ on Day 9 5. NK cells 1 x 10e8 cells/kg/dose IV on Day 12 (+ 1-2 days)
Also known as: Docetaxel, Dexamethasone, Pegfilgrastim, Gemcitabine
Part 1
Evaluation of DLT in patients enrolled during Part 1 enrollment * ≥2 of 6 patients with DLT will be cause for termination of the study
Time frame: 3-5 years
Part 2
Determination of 6-month progression free survival (PFS) in study patients measured from initiation of treatment (Day 1 of the first cycle of therapy) Patients will be considered evaluable for tumor response if they: * Have received at least one dose of NK cell infusion * Have completed all therapy and are 1 year from initiation of treatment * Are lost to follow up * Elect to discontinue therapy * Terminate treatment for reasons of toxicity or progression prior to completion of therapy.
Time frame: 3-5 years
Treatment response of target lesions determined using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 criteria
Assessments will be performed after every other cycle of treatment to determine antitumor effect of therapy.
Time frame: Every two cycles (21 days per cycle) for 3-5 years
Frequency and characterization of DLT in study patients
cycle = 21 days
Time frame: 3-5 years
Exploratory Endpoint
Assessment of TGFβi NK cell persistence, phenotype, and retained cytolytic activity in patient peripheral blood via samples drawn on days 1, 8, and 12 of each cycle beginning with cycle 2 analyzed by flow cytometry.
Time frame: Days 1, 8, and 12 of each cycle (21 days per cycle), starting with cycle 2
Plan to share: Undecided
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