Recruiting

Testing immune cells to treat brain tumors that came back

Plain-English translation of NCT07087002 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ · Source last updated January 2026 · Translation generated August 2026 · How we translate trials

Phase 1 — Testing in a small group (usually 20–80 people) to find a safe dose and watch for side effects.

What is this trial?

This trial is testing GPC2-CAR T cell therapy, a treatment that uses your own immune cells to fight brain tumors that have come back or stopped responding to previous treatments. Doctors will take some of your blood cells, modify them in the laboratory to recognize and attack cancer cells, and then put them back into your brain through a special infusion. The goal is to see if this personalized approach is safe and effective for children and young adults with relapsed or refractory medulloblastoma and similar brain tumors.

When brain tumors come back after initial treatment or don't respond to standard therapy, treatment options are very limited and survival rates are poor. This trial exists to test whether training a patient's own immune cells to specifically target and destroy these brain tumors could offer a new hope for patients who have run out of standard treatment options.

Do you qualify?

You likely qualify if…

you have been diagnosed with medulloblastoma or another embryonal brain tumor, confirmed by a biopsy
your tumor has come back after initial treatment or has stopped responding to standard therapy
your tumor cells test positive for a marker called GPC2 (based on lab analysis of a tumor sample)
you have measurable disease visible on imaging scans or in spinal fluid within 28 days of enrollment
you are between 12 months and 30 years old at the time of enrollment (with the first three treated patients needing to be at least 3 years old)
your body is strong enough to handle the treatment, based on blood work and overall health status

You likely don't qualify if…

you have had recent radiation therapy to the brain without sufficient time for recovery (less than 6 weeks for full-brain radiation, or less than 14 days for targeted radiation)
you have recently received other cancer treatments without adequate wash-out time before starting this trial
you do not have adequate blood cell counts or organ function as measured by required lab tests
you have an active infection or severe medical condition that would make participation unsafe

What participation looks like

You will undergo a procedure to collect some of your blood cells, which are then sent to the laboratory to be modified and grown. While the cells are being prepared, you will receive chemotherapy to prepare your body. Once the cells are ready, you will receive up to 8 infusions of the modified cells directly into the space around your brain over several months. You will be closely monitored throughout the trial with regular imaging scans, blood tests, and clinic visits to check how well the treatment is working and to manage any side effects.

AI-generated summary from trial data · Aug 2, 2026 · Not medical advice

Trial locations(1 site)

United States

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Palo Alto, California