Collection of Immunology Specimens From Patients With Cancer or Blood Disorders, and Healthy Volunteers

March 27, 2026 updated by: University of Southern California

Protocol for Immunology Specimen Collection From Cancer Patients, Patients With Hematologic Diagnoses, and Healthy Normal Controls

This research trial collects and stores blood, tissue, and bone marrow specimens from patients with cancer or blood disorders, and healthy volunteers to study the immune system in a variety of different types of experiments, as well as associated clinical data as appropriate, focused on understanding mechanisms of immunotherapy.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES; I. Identify changes in immune system parameters in patients receiving immunotherapies (including immune checkpoint inhibitors, immunostimulatory/immunomodulatory agents, cellular therapies, stem cell transplantation) and compare to changes in patients receiving conventional chemotherapy, targeted-agent therapy, and healthy normal volunteers using multiparameter flow cytometry, time-of-flight mass cytometry, cytokine quantification, functional analysis of immune cell subsets isolated via fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), and genetic and proteomic techniques (deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA] sequencing, ribonucleic acid sequence [RNASeq], reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR], Western blot).

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Optimize methods for measuring functional status of circulating immune cells and hematopoietic progenitors (activation, inhibition, cytotoxicity, proliferative capacity).

II. Use genetic and epigenetic techniques to a) study clonal diversity in T cell subsets b) determine the genetic basis for T cell immune reconstitution following stem cell transplantation.

OUTLINE:

Patients and healthy normal volunteers undergo collection of peripheral blood samples for analysis via flow cytometry, RNASeq, immunohistochemistry, cytometry by time of flight (CyTOF) experiments, cell cultures, and functional studies of immune cell subsets obtained by FACS. Patients also undergo collection of bone marrow and leukopheresis/leukoreduction specimens, and single cell suspensions and bulk excised tumor biopsies are obtained from routine testing for analysis via immunohistochemistry or CyTOF.

After completion of study, patients are followed up for up to 2 years.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
625

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90033
        • Recruiting
        • USC / Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Casey O'Connell, MS

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

19 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients known to have cancer, an immune-mediated hematologic diagnosis, or a healthy normal volunteer

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All patients known to have cancer, an immune-mediated hematologic diagnosis, or a healthy normal volunteer
  • Definition of immune-mediated hematologic diagnosis: diagnoses for which immune dysfunction and/or immune system directed therapy (eg. aplastic anemia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, immune thrombocytopenic purpura [ITP], etc.) are involved
  • Definition of healthy normal volunteer: persons lacking diagnoses of any type of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, non-hematologic autoimmune disease (eg. systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], rheumatoid arthritis [RA], Crohn's disease) and not taking any immunosuppressive medications
  • Patients must have been seen in the Norris Hospital and outpatient clinics, or the Los Angeles County (LAC)-University of Southern California (USC) Medical Center or outpatient clinics; healthy volunteers can be recruited without any physician visit appointments since their labs are strictly for clinical research and not for personal health issues unrelated to the project

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to give informed consent to specimen collection
  • Known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive status
  • Persons taking any type of immunosuppressive medication are excluded from participating as healthy normal volunteers
  • Any patient for whom specimen collection is judged to be unsafe (for example, for patients unable to establish venous access)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Ancillary-correlative (biospecimen collection)
Patients and healthy normal volunteers undergo collection of peripheral blood samples for analysis via flow cytometry, RNASeq, immunohistochemistry, CyTOF experiments, cell cultures, and functional studies of immune cell subsets obtained by FACS. Patients also undergo collection of bone marrow and leukopheresis/leukoreduction specimens, and single cell suspensions and bulk excised tumor biopsies are obtained from routine testing for analysis via immunohistochemistry or CyTOF.
Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis
Correlative studies
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Procedure: Biospecimen Collection
Undergo collection of peripheral blood, bone marrow, and tissue

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sample collection for immunology studies from patients with cancer or blood disorders, and healthy volunteers
Time Frame: Baseline to 5 years
Tissue, blood, and bone marrow samples collected will be used to identify changes in immune system parameters in patients receiving immunotherapies (including immune checkpoint inhibitors, immunostimulatory/immunomodulatory agents, cellular therapies, stem cell transplantation) and compare to changes in patients receiving conventional chemotherapy, targeted-agent therapy, and healthy normal volunteers using multiparameter flow cytometry, time-of-flight mass cytometry, cytokine quantification, functional analysis of immune cell subsets isolated via fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), and genetic and proteomic techniques (deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA] sequencing, ribonucleic acid [RNA]-sequence [Seq], reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR], Western blot).
Baseline to 5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Southern California

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Casey O'Connell, MD, University of Southern California

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 12, 2017

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 2, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 30, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 5, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 27, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 0S-15-16 (Other Identifier: USC / Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center)
  • P30CA014089 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • NCI-2017-00625 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm

Clinical Trials on Laboratory Biomarker Analysis

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings