Administration of Rapidly Generated Multivirus-specific Cytotoxic T-Lymphocytes (VIRAGE)

Summary

Patient's on this protocol have a type of blood cell cancer, other blood disease or a genetic disease and have received a stem cell transplant. The donor of the stem cells was either a brother or sister, another relative, or a closely matched unrelated donor. The patient is being asked to participate in this study which tests if blood cells from the donor that have been grown in a special way, can prevent or be an effective treatment for early infection by three viruses - Epstein Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and adenovirus.

Adenovirus is a virus that usually causes symptoms of a common cold, but can cause serious life-threatening infections in patients who have weak immune systems. It can affect the lungs and cause very serious pneumonia, and can also damage the gut, liver, pancreas and eyes.CMV can also cause serious infections in patients with weak or suppressed immune systems. It usually affects the lungs, causing a very serious pneumonia, but it can also affect the gut, the liver and the eyes. Approximately 2/3 of normal people harbor this virus in their body. In healthy people CMV rarely causes any problems because the immune system can keep it under control, but after a transplant, the risk of developing CMV disease is much higher because the immune system is so weak. EBV is the virus that causes glandular fever. It is also a life long infection like CMV that is normally controlled by the immune system. When immunity is weak, the virus can become active and cause fevers, enlarged lymph nodes and sometimes a type of cancer called lymphoma.

Investigators want to see if a kind of white blood cell called T lymphocytes (T cells)can be used to prevent and treat adenovirus, CMV and EBV in the early stages of reactivation or infection. T cells have been grown from the patient's stem cell donor in the laboratory in a way that will train them to recognize the virus and control it when they are given after a transplant. This treatment with specially trained T cells (also called CTLs) has had activity against these viruses in previous studies and in this study investigators want to see if they still have activity when they are made in a simpler and faster way. These donor-derived multivirus-specific special cell lines are an investigational product not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether donor-derived multivirus-specific special cell lines are safe and can control three viruses: EBV, CMV and adenovirus.

Conditions

• Adenovirus Infection
• Epstein-Barr Virus Infections
• Cytomegalovirus Infections
• Stem Cell Transplant

Interventions

BIOLOGICAL

Multi-virus Specific T cells

Subjects will receive Multivirus specific T cells on one of the following dose levels: Level One: 5 x 10\^6 rCTLs/m2 Level Two: 1 x 10\^7 rCTLs/m2 Level Three: 2 x 10\^7 rCTLs/m2 Level Four: 5 x 10\^7 rCTLs/m2 If a patient has a partial response (as defined by a 50% fall in viral load) or receives medication (such as steroids) which may affect the persistence or function of the infused CTL they are eligible to receive up to 2 additional doses at the same initial dose. The minimum time between additional doses is 28 days.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Methodist Hospital Research Institute

  collaborator OTHER

• Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine

  collaborator OTHER

• Baylor College of Medicine

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Helen E Heslop, MD · Baylor College of Medicine

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-01-31

Primary Completion

2013-05-31

Completion

2014-04-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations