Humanized CD19-Specific CAR T Cells for the Treatment of Patients With Positive Relapsed or Refractory CD19 Positive B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

This phase Ib trial tests the safety, side effects, and effectiveness of humanized (hu)CD19-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy in treating patients with CD19 positive B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that has come back after a period of improvement (relapsed) or that has not responded to previous treatment (refractory). CAR T-cell therapy is a treatment in which a patient's T cells (a type of immune system cell) are changed in the laboratory so they will attack cancer cells. T cells are taken from a patient's blood. Then the gene for a special receptor that binds to a certain protein, such as CD19, on the patient's cancer cells is added to the T cells in the laboratory. The special receptor is called a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). Large numbers of the huCD19 positive CAR T cells are grown in the laboratory and given to the patient by infusion for treatment of certain cancers. Chemotherapy drugs, such as fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. huCD19-CAR T cell therapy may be safe, tolerable and effective in treating patients with relapsed or refractory CD19 positive ALL.