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RecruitingNCT07087002Updated Sep 11, 2026

GPC2-CAR T Cell Therapy for Relapsed or Refractory Medulloblastoma in Children and Young Adults

A Phase 1 interventional study of GPC2-CAR T cells and Fludarabine in Medulloblastoma, Central Nervous System Embryonal Tumor and Refractory Medulloblastoma, sponsored by Stanford University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 1 Year to 30 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-11.

Sponsored by Stanford University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
18
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
1 Year to 30 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is a single-site, open-label Phase I treatment study evaluating the manufacturing feasibility and safety of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting the oncofetal protein Glypican-2 (GPC2) in pediatric and young adult patients with recurrent or refractory (R/R) medulloblastoma. Subjects with other non-medulloblastoma CNS embryonal tumors may enroll.

02

Conditions studied

  • Medulloblastoma
  • Central Nervous System Embryonal Tumor
  • Refractory Medulloblastoma
  • Recurrent Medulloblastoma
  • Pediatric Brain Tumor
  • Embryonal Tumor With Multilayered Rosettes (ETMR)
  • Pineoblastoma
  • Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) of the CNS
  • CNS Neuroblastoma
  • FOXR2-activated

Keywords

  • GPC2-CAR T cells
  • Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells
  • Intracerebroventricular CAR T
  • Pediatric CNS tumors
  • Immunotherapy
  • Medulloblastoma
  • Refractory brain tumors
  • T cell therapy
  • Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes (ETMR)
  • Pineoblastoma
  • Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) of the CNS
  • CNS neuroblastoma
  • FOXR2-activated
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Year to 30 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Diagnosis: Histologically confirmed diagnosis of medulloblastoma or other primary CNS embryonal tumor according to 2021 CNS WHO Classification (5th edition)

    • Other acceptable CNS embryonal tumors include:
    • Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes (ETMR)
    • Pineoblastoma
    • Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) of the CNS
    • CNS neuroblastoma, FOXR2-activated
    • CNS Embryonal Tumor NOS
  2. Recurrent/Refractory Disease: History of relapsed and/or recurrent disease defined as tumor progression or recurrence following initial diagnosis and upfront treatment with curative intent, or failure to achieve disease control with standard curative-intent therapy.
  3. GPC2 Positive: H-score ≥ 100 by IHC staining performed on the (Prescreening Protocol IRB-78780, PI: Katherine Ryan, DO) at Stanford Clinical Anatomic Pathology Lab for GPC2 from a tumor sample any time since initial diagnosis.
  4. Evaluable Disease: Evaluable disease as per radiographic findings and/or positive cerebrospinal fluid cytology within 28 days of enrollment.
  5. Patients with VP shunts: Patients with pre-existing ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt devices must have a programmable shunt device to enroll on this study. A VP shunt is not a requirement for this study.
  6. Prior therapy: No limit to the number of prior treatment regimens. Toxicities due to prior therapy must be stable or recovered to ≤ Grade 1 (except for clinically non-significant toxicities such as alopecia, nutritional support measures, electrolyte abnormalities, or those not impacting the investigator's ability to assess treatment emergent toxicities).

    At time of enrollment, subjects are on track to meet the required therapy wash out period(s) prior to apheresis.

    a. At least 6 weeks following craniospinal radiation therapy. i. At least 14 days wash-out needed following small volume radiotherapy (i.e., Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)).

    b. At least 21 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is shorter) must have elapsed since any prior systemic therapy, except for systemic inhibitory/stimulatory immune checkpoint therapy, which requires 5 half-lives.

    c. At least 28 days following bevacizumab treatment. d. At least 30 days following any investigational drug. e. At least 12 weeks following systemic inhibitory or stimulatory immune checkpoint therapy.

  7. Age: ≥ 12 months to ≤ 30 years of age at time of enrollment The first 3 subjects treated with GPC2-CAR T cells must be ≥ 3 years old at time of infusion
  8. Performance Status: Subjects ≥ 16 years of age must have Karnofsky ≥ 60%. Subjects \< 16 years of age must have Lansky scale 60%; or ECOG performance status ≤ 2 (see Section 11.3).
  9. Normal Organ and Marrow Function [supportive care is allowed per institutional standards, i.e., filgrastim, transfusion]

    1. Hemoglobin ≥ 8 g/dL
    2. Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) ≥ 1,000/μL
    3. Platelet count ≥ 75,000/μL, with no platelet transfusion within 96 hours prior to enrollment
    4. Absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) ≥ 150/μL
    5. PT/INR, PTT ≤ 1.5 x ULN for age

      Adequate renal, hepatic, cardiac, and pulmonary function defined as:

    6. Serum creatinine \< 1.5 x ULN for age and gender, OR creatinine clearance or GFR (radioisotope or iothalamate) ≥ 70 mL/min/1.73 m2
    7. Serum ALT or AST ≤ 3x ULN
    8. Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL, unless subject has Gilbert's Syndrome
    9. Cardiac ejection fraction ≥ 45%
    10. No evidence of physiologically significant pericardial effusion as determined by an ECHO
    11. No clinically significant ECG findings
    12. No clinically significant pleural effusion
    13. Pulse oximetry ≥ 92% on room air, OR forced vital capacity ≥ 50% of predicted value
  10. Not Pregnant: Females of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test.
  11. Contraception: Subjects of child-bearing or child-fathering potential must be willing to practice birth control from the time of enrollment on this study and for four (4) months after receiving the preparative regimen or for as long as CAR T cells are detectable in peripheral blood.
  12. Must provide informed consent. All subjects ≥ 18 years of age must be able to give informed consent. For subjects \<18 years old or adults with limited decision-making capacity, their legal authorized representative (LAR) (i.e., parent or guardian) must give informed consent. Pediatric subjects will be included in age-appropriate discussion and assent will be obtained for those > 7 years of age, when appropriate. If a minor becomes of age during participation of this study, he/she will be asked to reconsent as an adult.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Any patient with metastatic disease OUTSIDE the CNS.
  2. Unwilling or unable, in the investigator's judgement, to have a CSF reservoir (Ommaya or Rickham) placed. Does not apply to subjects who have a pre-existing device suitable for ICV delivery of CAR T cells and ICP monitoring.
  3. Clinical evidence of active/on-going significant increased intracranial pressure (i.e., impending herniation) or uncontrolled seizures.
  4. Prior receipt of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based therapy.
  5. Currently receiving anticoagulation therapy.
  6. Known history of infection with HIV or hepatitis B (HBsAg positive) or hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV positive).

    EXCEPTION: A history of hepatitis B or hepatitis C is permitted if the viral load is undetectable per quantitative PCR and/or nucleic acid testing.

  7. Pregnancy or breastfeeding in a postpartum female.
  8. Known sensitivity or allergy to any agents/reagents used in this study.
  9. History of prior other malignancy. EXCEPTION: Previously diagnosed and definitively treated more than 5 years prior to enrollment or whose prognosis is deemed good enough to not warrant surveillance.
  10. Primary immunodeficiency or history of autoimmune disease (e.g., Crohn's, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus) resulting in end organ injury or requiring systemic immunosuppression/systemic disease modifying agents within the last 2 years.
  11. History of myocardial infarction, cardiac angioplasty or stenting, unstable angina, or other clinically significant cardiac disease within 12 months of enrollment.
  12. Significant medical diseases or poorly controlled conditions that, in the judgement of the investigator, put the subject at an unacceptable risk of complications, including but not limited to: uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, clinically significant inflammatory disorders, immunodeficiency (e.g., HIV infection), immunocompromised for reasons other than malignancy (e.g., chronic corticosteroid therapy or other immunosuppressive therapy), renal failure including patients requiring dialysis, or clinically significant liver dysfunction.
  13. In the Investigator's judgment, the subject or parents/caregivers (as required) will not be able to comply with the study procedures outlined in the study protocol including follow-up visits.
04

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Sequential assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
18 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    GPC2-CAR T Cell Therapy

    Participants will undergo leukapheresis for collection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which will be used to manufacture autologous T cells transduced with a retroviral vector encoding a GPC2-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (GPC2-CAR T cells). After lymphodepleting chemotherapy with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, participants will receive up to 16 cycles of intracerebroventricular (ICV) GPC2-CAR T cell infusions using an intrapatient dose escalation strategy.

    Genetic: GPC2-CAR T cells · Drug: Fludarabine · Drug: Cyclophosphamide

Interventions

  • GeneticGPC2-CAR T cells

    Autologous T cells transduced with a retroviral vector encoding a second-generation GPC2-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (GPC2-CAR), administered intracerebroventricularly. Up to 16 doses (cycles) are administered using an intrapatient dose-escalation strategy. Cycle 2 may occur no earlier than Day 28 following Cycle 1, and Cycles 3 through 16 may occur as early as Day 22 following the preceding cycle.

    Also known as: GPC2-directed CAR T cells

  • DrugFludarabine

    Participants who meet eligibility criteria for lymphodepletion chemotherapy will receive fludarabine 30 mg/m²/day administered intravenously on Days -4, -3, and -2 prior to study treatment. Participants weighing \<12 kg will receive protocol-specified dose adjustments.

  • DrugCyclophosphamide

    Participants who meet eligibility criteria for lymphodepletion chemotherapy will receive cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m²/day administered intravenously on Days -4, -3, and -2 prior to study treatment. Participants weighing \<12 kg will receive protocol-specified dose adjustments.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Manufacturing Feasibility

    Proportion of manufacturing attempts that result in at least one dose of GPC2-CAR T cells that meet the IND release criteria and protocol-specified dose.

    Time frame: Up to 6 months post-leukapheresis

  2. Incidence of Dose Limiting Toxicities (DLTs)

    Number and severity of DLTs following GPC2-CAR T cell administration at each dose level using protocol-defined criteria.

    Time frame: Within first 28-day treatment cycle per dose level

Secondary outcomes

  1. Objective Response Rate (ORR)

    Percentage of subjects achieving a protocol-defined response (complete response, partial response, or stable disease) based on imaging and neurological exam.

    Time frame: Up to 2 years post-infusion

  2. Progression-Free Survival (PFS)

    Time from enrollment to radiographic disease progression.

    Time frame: Up to 2 years

  3. Overall Survival (OS)

    Time from initial diagnosis to death from any cause.

    Time frame: Up to 2 years

06

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
    Palo Alto, California 94304, United States
    Recruiting
07

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07087002
Lead sponsor
Stanford University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 25, 2025
Start date
Aug 28, 2025
Primary completion
Aug 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 11, 2026

Study contacts

Mariah Duncan
Contact
GPC2CART@stanfordchildrens.org
(650) 497-8953
Katherine Ryan, DO
principal investigator · Stanford University

Oversight

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

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