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RecruitingNCT06751134Updated Feb 7, 2025

Chimeric Natural Killer Receptor-Universal T Cells for Relapsed or Refractory Neuroblastoma

A Phase 1 interventional study of Chimeric Natural Killer Receptor Universal T-cells (CNK-UT) in Neuroblastoma, Recurrent, Refractory, sponsored by Nanjing Children's Hospital. Recruiting at 2 sites in China. Open to participants aged 1 Year to 12 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-02-07.

Sponsored by Nanjing Children's Hospital · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Jul 2026, 4 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started Dec 2024; still recruiting 1 year 10 months later.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
12
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
1 Year to 12 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is a single arm, open-label, multi-center, pilot studies (Investigator Initiated Trial, IIT) to evaluate the safety, preliminary efficacy, pharmacokinetics of universal T-cells engineered with chimeric natural killer receptor (CNK-UT) to treat the patients with relapsed/refractory Neuroblastoma.

Read the detailed description

This is a single arm, open-label, phase I, dose escalation/dose expansion study to assess the safety of CNK-UT cells therapy, and to obtain the preliminary efficacy and pharmacokinetics result in participants who have been diagnosed with relapsed/refractory Neuroblastoma.

02

Conditions studied

  • Neuroblastoma, Recurrent, Refractory

Keywords

  • Chimeric natural killer receptor universal T-cells, relapsed/refractory Neuroblastoma
03

In context

Neuroblastoma

675 studies on the registry are indexed under Neuroblastoma; 127 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 12 is below the median of 32 across 507 interventional studies indexed under Neuroblastoma.

Browse Neuroblastoma studies →

Lead sponsor

Nanjing Children's Hospital is the lead sponsor of 16 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Year to 12 Years
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. Aged 1-12 years with weight≥10kg, male or female;
  2. The child and/or guardian has signed the form (ICF) and has the ability to comply with the study requirements.
  3. Diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Clinical diagnostic criteria and standard treatment can refer to the NCCN guidelines:

    1. Relapsed neuroblastoma: New lesions appear at the primary site or other locations 4 weeks after achieving complete remission through first-line standard treatment.
    2. Refractory neuroblastoma: Failure to achieve complete remission after standard treatment protocols, which include induction chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy targeting the primary tumor and residual sites;
  4. Prior to enrollment, appropriate measures can be implemented to ensure that the subject's disease status is either partial remission (PR) or stable disease (SD).
  5. According to the INRC efficacy criteria, there must be at least one lesion whose efficacy can be assessed through functional imaging (123I-MIBG) and/or bone marrow examination (bone marrow aspiration or ). If soft tissue lesions are present, the longest diameter of the target lesion should be ≤2 cm.
  6. Tumor tissue sections or paraffin blocks can be provided, and it has been confirmed through immunohistochemistry (IHC) that the tumor tissue expresses B7-H3.
  7. Lansky score>60;
  8. Estimated > 12 weeks;
  9. Adequate organ and bone marrow function, and the laboratory test value meets the following requirements within 7 days before enrollment, as follows:

(1)Blood Routine Test: (ANC)≥1.5×10\^9/L;Absolute lymphocyte count (ALC)≥0.2×10\^9/L; count ≥75×10\^9/L; ≥90g/L; (2)Heart: (LVEF)≥50%;Cardiac function Grade I-II; (3)Pulmonary function: indoor oxygen saturation≥92%. (4)Hepatic function:Total ≤3×; (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT)≤5×ULN; (5)Renal function: Serum creatinine≤2×ULN, or rate (CCR)≥60 mL/min (Cockroft-Gault formula); 10.All toxic responses originating from previous radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other treatments (occurring within 4 weeks or 5 half-lives of anti-tumor drugs therapy [including but not limited to chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, Chinese herbal medicine]) have returned to NCI CTCAEV5.0 Grade≤1 (except for hair loss).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Suffering from malignant tumors or diagnosed within 5 years before enrollment, excluding radical skin basal cell carcinoma, skin squamous cell carcinoma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ) and / or radical resection of carcinoma in situ.
  2. Participants with symptomatic central nervous system (CNS) confirmed by imaging or pathological examination.
  3. Participants with MIBG non-avid disease.
  4. Participants with a history of organ transplantation(excluding stem cell transplantation);
  5. Participants with active diseases requiring systemic treatment (such as the use of disease-modifying drugs, , or ) are considered. The use of replacement therapies (such as thyroxine, insulin, or physiological corticosteroids for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency) is permitted. A known history of primary immunodeficiency is also noted. For patients who only test positive for autoimmune antibodies, the presence of autoimmune disease must be confirmed based on the investigator's judgment.
  6. Uncontrolled or irreparable systemic diseases, metabolic disorders, or other non-malignant organ diseases or cancer sequelae, which may lead to higher medical risks and/or uncertainties in survival assessment.
  7. Active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), who is receiving anti-tuberculosis treatment or has received anti-tuberculosis treatment within 1 year before enrollment; (HIV) infection, known syphilis infection.
  8. Severe infections that are either active or poorly controlled clinically within 4 weeks prior to enrollment, including but not limited to hospitalization due to infections, bacteremia, or severe pneumonia complications (excluding mild urinary tract infections and upper respiratory tract infections).
  9. Received radiotherapy, chemotherapy (excluding lymphodepletion), molecular targeted therapy, , or other anti-tumor treatments within 4 weeks or 5 half-lives (whichever is shorter) before cell infusion..
  10. Participants who have undergone major surgery (craniotomy, thoracotomy, or laparotomy) within 4 weeks prior to the initiation of the study, or have severe unhealed wounds, ulcers, or fractures.
  11. Participants who have received treatment from other clinical trials within 4 weeks prior to the initiation of the study.
  12. Participants who receive attenuated within 4 weeks prior to the initiation of the study.
  13. Participants who have used any gene therapy products prior to cell infusion.
  14. Allergic to components of CNK-UT injection.
  15. Participants suffer from known mental or substance abuse disorders, which may interfere with their ability to comply with research requirements.
  16. Participants considered by the investigator to have other potentially life-threatening serious complications that may interfere with the evaluation of this study..
  17. Other situations that the participant is identified by the investigator as unsuitable to participate in 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.

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.

Relapsed and refractory

Relapsed: the illness came back after treatment had worked. Refractory: it did not respond to treatment, or stopped responding while still on it.

Line of therapy

A line of therapy is one course of treatment, which may combine several drugs. First-line is the first course given; second-line follows when that stops working or is not tolerated.

“Two prior lines” means two courses that count separately under the study’s rules — not simply two drugs. Ask the study team if you are unsure how yours are counted.

Metastases

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

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Life expectancy

The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

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.

PD-1, PD-L1 and checkpoint inhibitors

PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are proteins that act as brakes on the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab or nivolumab, block them so the immune system can attack a cancer.

PD-L1 can also be measured in a tumour sample. Some scores count stained tumour cells only (TPS); others also count certain immune cells (CPS). The study names the score and the minimum it uses.

Live vaccines

Vaccines made with a weakened form of the germ, such as measles–mumps–rubella (MMR), chickenpox and yellow fever. They can be risky when the immune system is weakened. Flu injections are not live; the nasal flu spray is.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
12 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    CNK-UT cells therapy

    1. Dose Escalation: Single-dose intravenous injection of CNK-UT cells (3\~34×10\^7 CNK+ cells/kg). 2. Dose Expansion: Multiple-dose intravenous injection of CNK-UT cells according to the results of dose escalation.

    Drug: Chimeric Natural Killer Receptor Universal T-cells (CNK-UT)

Interventions

  • DrugChimeric Natural Killer Receptor Universal T-cells (CNK-UT)

    OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of CNK-UT cells followed by a dose-expansion study. 1. Dose Escalation (Single Ascending Dose Study, SAD): During SAD study stage, the participants will be intravenous infused with CNK-UT cells (3\~34×10\^7 CNK+ cells/kg)with a"3 +3" design to determine the maximum tolerated dose. During single ascending dose (SAD) study stage, the participants will receive a single dose of CNK-UT cells before the DLT observation period (21 days). If the participants do not experience DLT, they will be able to enter a multiple ascending dose (MAD) study stage. 2. Dose Expansion (multiple ascending dose study, MAD): During MAD study stage, the participants will receive multiple doses of CNK-UT cells. The dosage and frequency of drug administration in the dose expansion stage can be adjusted and determined according to the SAD study.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence of Treatment Related adverse events (AEs)

    Incidence of Treatment Related AEs, AEs of special interest and serious adverse events (SAEs) assessed by NCI-CTCAE v5.0 criteria

    Time frame: up to 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Objective Response Rate (ORR)

    Overall response is defined as either a complete or partial response (CR+PR), the response should be confirmed no less than 4 weeks after the first evaluation.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

  2. Duration of Response (DOR)

    The period from the first evaluation of CR or PR to the first evaluation of PD or death of any cause.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

  3. Disease control rate (DCR)

    The number of cases in which response are achieved from the start of cells infusion/the total number of evaluable cases (%).

    Time frame: up to 1 year

  4. Progression-free Survival (PFS)

    The period from the day when the participant receives the cell therapy to the first recorded disease progression (whether treated or not) or death of any cause, which occurs first.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

  5. Overall survival (OS)

    The period from the first infusion to any cause of death.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

  6. Pharmacokinetics (PK) (Cmax)

    The Peak Plasma concentration (Cmax) of amplified CNK-UT DNA in peripheral blood after infusion.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

  7. Pharmacokinetics (PK) (Tmax)

    The time to reach the maximum concentration (Tmax).

    Time frame: up to 1 year

Other outcomes

  1. biomarkers

    Ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), neuron specific enolase (NSE) will be analyzed.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

  2. Levels of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets

    Percentage of T cell、B cell、NK Cells、Treg cell and MDSC in peripheral blood detected by FCM after infusion.

    Time frame: up to 1 year

07

Study locations

2 of 2 sites recruiting
  • Nanjing Children's Hospital
    Nanjing, Jiangsu 210000, China
    Recruiting
  • Nanjing
    Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
    Recruiting
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 7, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06751134
Lead sponsor
Nanjing Children's Hospital
Responsible party
Fang Yongjun (Prof., Nanjing Medical University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 27, 2024
Start date
Dec 28, 2024
Primary completion
Jul 1, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 1, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Feb 7, 2025

Study contacts

Fang Yongjun, Prof.
Contact
fyj322@189.com
025-52862937

Oversight

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

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