Acute Myeloid LeukemiaPhase 1NCT04024761
A Phase 1 Trial of CIML NK Cell Infusion for Myeloid Disease Relapse After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
A Phase 1 study testing CIML NK, Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide in people with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes, run by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at 2 sites in United States.
Trial summary
This research study is studying cytokine induced memory-like natural killer (CIML NK) cells combined with IL-2 in adult patients (18 years of age or older) with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) who relapse after haploidentical hematopoietic cell… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 12 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Myeloproliferative Neoplasm
- What is being tested?
- CIML NK, Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide
- Type of treatment
- Injection or infusion
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 50 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesUnited States
- Study dates
- 31 Aug 2019to 1 Dec 2026
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 12 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
- Inclusion Criteria: 1.1 Relapse or post-transplant persistence of AML, MDS (including JMML) or MPN (CMML, myelofibrosis or MDS/MPN). Disease relapse or persistence will be defined as any measurable disease by morphology, flow-cytometry, validated tests for minimal residual disease or disease-defining mutations in the bone marrow, or non-immune privileged extramedullary sites. 1.2 Persistence of disease within 4 weeks before planned NK cell infusion and at least 2 weeks after completion of immune suppression taper as long as it is > 2 months after stem cell transplantation for both adult and pediatric patients. If 2 weeks after completion of the immune suppression taper is still within 2 months of the most recent stem cell transplant, then chemotherapy with Fludarabine/Cyclophosphamide would need to start no earlier than at least 2 months after the transplant. For adults, disease persistence after a second transplant is allowed as long as the most recent transplant was a haploidentical or HLA matched stem cell transplant. In the pediatric cohort, disease persistence or recurrence after a second transplant is allowed as long as the most recent transplant was a haploidentical or matched related donor SCT. 1.3 Available original donor (same donor as used for the most recent haploidentical or HLA matched stem cell transplant for adults, or for the most recent matched related donor or related haploidentical donor for pediatrics) that is willing and eligible for non-mobilized collection. 1.4 Age ≥12 years. 1.5 ECOG performance status ≤2. For For patients in the pediatric cohort, this corresponds to a Lansky (patients <16 years) or Karnofsky (≥16years) performance status of ≥50. 1.6 T cell chimerism ≥20% donor-derived within the 4 weeks prior to cell infusion. 1.7 Patient with ≤80% bone marrow involvement within 4 weeks prior to cell infusion. Medications like hydroxyurea, decitabine or cytarabine are allowed to control rising blasts between study enrollment and cell infusion. 1.8 No systemic corticosteroid therapy for GVHD (≤ 5mg of prednisone or equivalent dose of systemic steroids for non-GVHD, non-autoimmune indications are allowed) for at least 4 weeks prior to cell infusion. Patients on systemic GVHD prophylaxis medications such as tacrolimus or sirolimus need to be off these medications for at least 4 weeks prior to cell infusion. 1.9 No other systemic medications/treatments (e.g. ECP) for GVHD for at least 4 weeks prior to cell infusion. 1.10 Ability of the patient or legal guardian to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. 1.11 Adequate organ function within 2 weeks of NK cell infusion as defined below:
- Total bilirubin: ≤1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) (except Gilbert's or disease-related hemolysis, then <3 x ULN)
- AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT): ≤3 x institutional ULN
- Serum creatinine ≤2.0mg/dL
- O2 saturation: ≥90% on room air
- LVEF >40%. If there is no clinical evidence of a change in cardiovascular function from the time of pre-transplantation ECHO, then there is no need to repeat it. Otherwise, an ECHO will need to be repeated within 2 weeks of NK cell infusion. 1.12 Negative pregnancy test for women of childbearing potential only. 1.13 The effects of CIML NK cells and IL-2 on the developing human fetus are unknown. For this reason, women of child-bearing potential and men 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 the last IL-2 dose administration.
- Exclusion Criteria:
2.1 Extramedullary relapse involving immuno-privileged sites (e.g. CNS, testes, eyes). Other sites of extramedullary relapse (e.g. leukemia cutis, granulocytic sarcoma) are acceptable.
2.2 Participants who have had investigational agents within 4 weeks prior to cell infusion (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C), or immunotherapy within 8 weeks prior, or those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks prior or standard chemotherapy administered more than 14 days ago. Use of hydroxyurea, hypomethylating agents, low-dose cytarabine or venetoclax to control counts within 4 weeks prior to cell infusion is permitted with study PI approval but would need to be stopped 1 day prior to administration of Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide preceding the NK cell infusion (provided that there are no ongoing AEs attributed to these agents that would preclude start of lymphodepletion in the view of the investigator). Patients on standard of care FLT-3, IDH1, and IDH2 inhibitors can stay on this treatment. Therapy with BCR-ABL inhibitors or bcl-2 inhibitors must be stopped 2 weeks before NK cell infusion and may be resumed after the end of the DLT period.
2.3 Prior history of Donor Lymphocyte Infusion (DLI) within 8 weeks of CIML NK infusion. DLI that was given before this time period and that did not result in any GVHD requiring systemic treatment is not an exclusion criterion.
2.4 Prior history of severe (grade 3 or 4) acute GVHD, or ongoing active GVHD requiring systemic treatment.
2.5 Solid organ transplant recipient. Prior allogeneic HLA matched or mismatched stem cell transplant is allowed in the pediatric cohort. Prior HLA matched related donor or HLA matched unrelated donor stem cell transplant is allowed in the adult cohort.
2.6 History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to IL-2 or other agents used in study.
2.7 Autoimmune disease: Patients with a history of inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease, are excluded from this study, as are patients with a history of symptomatic disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, systemic progressive sclerosis [scleroderma], systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune vasculitis [e.g., Wegener's Granulomatosis]) and motor neuropathy considered of autoimmune origin (e.g. Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Myasthenia Gravis). Patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis are eligible to go on study.
2.8 Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements.
2.9 Patients who develop a critical illness prior to NK cell infusion that would contraindicate the administration of Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide conditioning. Patients who recover from such illness may still be eligible, but this must be reviewed with the study PI. A repeat bone marrow examination may be required depending on the timing of recovery. Patients who become critically ill on the planned day of NK cell infusion are excluded if the NK cell infusion cannot be given within 48 hours of the planned day 0.
2.10 Pregnant women are excluded from this study because of the unknown teratogenic risk of CIML NK cells and IL-2 and with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects by Flu/Cy chemotherapy regimen. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with CIML NK cells and IL-2, breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated on this study.
2.11 HIV-positive participants are ineligible because of the potential for pharmacokinetic interactions with anti-retroviral agents used in this study. In addition, these participants are at increased risk of lethal infections when treated with marrow-suppressive therapy.
2.12 Individuals with active uncontrolled hepatitis B or C, HIV, or HTLV-1 are ineligible as they are at high risk of lethal treatment-related hepatotoxicity after HSCT.
2.13 Individuals with a history of a different malignancy are ineligible except for the following circumstances: 1. History of other malignancy and have had complete remission of disease for at least 2 years; 2. Diagnosed and treated within the past 2 years for: nonmetastatic melanoma, surgically resected (not needing systemic chemotherapy) squamous cell carcinoma of skin and nonmetastatic prostate cancer not needing systemic chemotherapy.
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States2 sites, 2 recruiting
- Recruiting
Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115
Susanne Baumeister, MD, (617) 632-4687, susanne_baumeister@dfci.harvard.edu
Susanne Baumeister, MD
- Recruiting
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115
Roman Shapiro, MD, 617) 632-3470, roman_shapiro@dfci.harvard.edu
Roman Shapiro, MD
About this study
This research study is studying cytokine induced memory-like natural killer (CIML NK) cells combined with IL-2 in adult patients (18 years of age or older) with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) who relapse after haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT) or HLA matched stem cells. This study will also study CIML NK cell infusion combined with IL-2 in pediatric patients (12 years of age or older) with AML, MDS, JMML who relapse after stem cell transplantation using HLA-matched related donor or related donor haploidentical stem cells.
Read the detailed description
This research study is a Phase I clinical trial, which tests the safety of an investigational intervention and also tries to define the appropriate dose of the investigational intervention to use for further studies. "Investigational" means that the intervention is being studied.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved CIML NK Cell Infusion as a treatment for relapsed disease.
- Conditions
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Myeloproliferative Neoplasm, Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia
- Being tested
- CIML NK, Fludarabine, Cyclophosphamide
- Keywords
- Leukemia
- Medical subject headings
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Myeloproliferative Disorders, Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Juvenile, Leukemia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
CIML NKBiological
CIML NK cells have enhanced ability to recognize and kill leukemia targets
FludarabineDrug
Fludarabine is a chemotherapy agent
CyclophosphamideDrug
Cyclophosphamide (CP), also known as cytophosphane among other names, is a chemotherapy agent
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| CIML NK | Experimental | * CIML NK cells will be administered intravenously on day 0.
* Fludarabine will be administered as IV infusion once daily for 3 doses beginning on day -5.
* Cyclophosphamide will be administered as IV infusion on days -5 and -4. Receives: Biological: CIML NK; Drug: Fludarabine; Drug: Cyclophosphamide |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Safety
To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of CIML NK cell infusion followed by low-dose IL-2
Measured: 6 Weeks
Secondary outcomes (4)
ORR (Objective Response Rate)
To determine complete remission (CR/CRi) rate after CIML NK cell infusion plus IL-2
Measured: 28 days
LFS and OS
To determine the rate of leukemia-free survival (LFS) and overall survival (OS) at day 100 and at 1 year post cell CIML NK cell infusion plus IL-2
Measured: 100 Days, 1 Year
Acute GVHD (Incidence, Severity)
To determine the incidence and severity of acute GVHD rates after CIML NK cell infusion plus IL-2
Measured: 100 Days, 6 Months
Chronic GVHD (Incidence, Severity)
To determine the incidence and severity of chronic GVHD rates after CIML NK cell infusion plus IL-2
Measured: 1 Year
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted18 Jul 2019
- Study start31 Aug 2019
- Primary completion1 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion1 Dec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Acute Myeloid LeukemiaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Roman Shapiro, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Investigators
- Susanne Baumeister, MD, Principal investigator, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04024761
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 19-265
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 17 Jul 2019
- Last updated
- 17 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: The Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center encourages and supports the responsible and ethical sharing of data from clinical trials. De-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript may only be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement. Requests may be directed to: \[contact information for Sponsor Investigator or designee\]. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research
Publications
Shapiro RM, Birch GC, Hu G, Vergara Cadavid J, Nikiforow S, Baginska J, Ali AK, Tarannum M, Sheffer M, Abdulhamid YZ, Rambaldi B, Arihara Y, Reynolds C, Halpern MS, Rodig SJ, Cullen N, Wolff JO, Pfaff KL, Lane AA, Lindsley RC, Cutler CS, Antin JH, Ho VT, Koreth J, Gooptu M, Kim HT, Malmberg KJ, Wu CJ, Chen J, Soiffer RJ, Ritz J, Romee R. Expansion, persistence, and efficacy of donor memory-like NK cells infused for posttransplant relapse. J Clin Invest. 2022 Jun 1;132(11):e154334. doi: 10.1172/JCI154334.
PubMed 35349491
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 17 Jun 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Phase 1 Trial of CIML NK Cell Infusion for Myeloid Disease Relapse After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04024761
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 19-265
- Conditions
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Myeloproliferative Neoplasm, Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia
- Keywords
- Leukemia
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
- Study start
- 31 Aug 2019 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 1 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 18 Jul 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This research study is studying cytokine induced memory-like natural killer (CIML NK) cells combined with IL-2 in adult patients (18 years of age or older) with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) who relapse after haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT) or HLA matched stem cells. This study will also study CIML NK cell infusion combined with IL-2 in pediatric patients (12 years of age or older) with AML, MDS, JMML who relapse after stem cell transplantation using HLA-matched related donor or related donor haploidentical stem cells.
Detailed description
This research study is a Phase I clinical trial, which tests the safety of an investigational intervention and also tries to define the appropriate dose of the investigational intervention to use for further studies. "Investigational" means that the intervention is being studied.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved CIML NK Cell Infusion as a treatment for relapsed disease.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| CIML NK | Experimental | Biological: CIML NK, Drug: Fludarabine, Drug: Cyclophosphamide* CIML NK cells will be administered intravenously on day 0. * Fludarabine will be administered as IV infusion once daily for 3 doses beginning on day -5. * Cyclophosphamide will be administered as IV infusion on days -5 and -4. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 12 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| CIML NKCIML NK cells have enhanced ability to recognize and kill leukemia targets | Biological | CIML NK |
| FludarabineFludarabine is a chemotherapy agent | Drug | CIML NK |
| CyclophosphamideCyclophosphamide (CP), also known as cytophosphane among other names, is a chemotherapy agent | Drug | CIML NK |
Primary outcome
Safety
Time frame: 6 Weeks
To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of CIML NK cell infusion followed by low-dose IL-2
4 secondary outcomes
ORR (Objective Response Rate)
Time frame: 28 days
LFS and OS
Time frame: 100 Days, 1 Year
Acute GVHD (Incidence, Severity)
Time frame: 100 Days, 6 Months
Chronic GVHD (Incidence, Severity)
Time frame: 1 Year
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 17 Jun 2026.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 35349491Shapiro RM, Birch GC, Hu G, Vergara Cadavid J, Nikiforow S, Baginska J, Ali AK, Tarannum M, Sheffer M, Abdulhamid YZ, Rambaldi B, Arihara Y, Reynolds C, Halpern MS, Rodig SJ, Cullen N, Wolff JO, Pfaff KL, Lane AA, Lindsley RC, Cutler CS, Antin JH, Ho VT, Koreth J, Gooptu M, Kim HT, Malmberg KJ, Wu CJ, Chen J, Soiffer RJ, Ritz J, Romee R. Expansion, persistence, and efficacy of donor memory-like NK cells infused for posttransplant relapse. J Clin Invest. 2022 Jun 1;132(11):e154334. doi: 10.1172/JCI154334.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. The Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center encourages and supports the responsible and ethical sharing of data from clinical trials. De-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript may only be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement. Requests may be directed to: [contact information for Sponsor Investigator or designee]. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Susanne Baumeister, MD principal investigator
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 1 study testing CIML NK, Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide in people with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes, run by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at 2 sites in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 2 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Roman M. Shapiro, MD (617-632-3470, roman_shapiro@dfci.harvard.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Safety (time frame: 6 Weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04024761, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 17 Jun 2026.