Testing immune cells engineered to fight relapsed leukemia in children

This is a Phase I study testing allogeneic memory T-cell therapy—immune cells taken from a healthy family member, engineered in a lab to recognize and fight leukemia cells, and then given to a young patient. The trial is designed to find the safest dose and evaluate how well this treatment works in children and young adults up to age 21 whose leukemia has returned or is no longer responding to standard therapies.

Many children with relapsed or refractory leukemia don't have good treatment options left. Some cannot receive the standard engineered cell therapy (called autologous CAR T-cell therapy) because they're too young, too small, or their disease is growing too fast. This new treatment uses cells from a matched family member instead, offering hope to patients who might otherwise have no options.