Nanobody-Based Anti-CD5 CAR-T for Relapsed/Refractory T-ALL/NHL (Phase I/II)

A Phase I Dose-Escalation and Phase II Study of Nanobody-Based CD5-Targeted CAR-T Cells in Relapsed or Refractory T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and T-Cell Lymphoma (T-ALL/NHL): The CONQUER Trial

To observe the safety and efficacy of Nanobody-Based CD5-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T cells in the treatment of refractory or relapsed T-ALL/NHL

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; PTCL; T - Cell Lymphoma
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: CD5-targeted CAR-T cells

Detailed Description

This Phase I/II study aims to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of Nanobody-Based CD5 Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) or T-cell lymphoma (T-NHL).

In the Phase I portion, a 3+3 dose-escalation design will be utilized to assess the safety profile and determine the optimal dose of Nanobody-Based CD5 CAR-T cells. The recommended Phase II dose (RP2D) will be established based on safety data, dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), and preliminary efficacy outcomes.

The Phase II portion will then evaluate the efficacy of Nanobody-Based CD5 CAR-T therapy at the RP2D. The primary and secondary endpoints will include:

Overall response rate (ORR) Disease-free survival (DFS) Overall survival (OS) Comprehensive safety assessments will be conducted throughout the study, with a particular focus on cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS).

By investigating Nanobody-Based CD5 CAR-T therapy, this study aims to address the significant unmet clinical need for effective treatment options in patients with R/R T-ALL/NHL and provide insights into its potential as a novel immunotherapeutic approach.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: MENG LV, MD PhD; Phone Number: +861088324637; Email: drlvmeng@bjmu.edu.cn

Study Locations

• China
  • Beijing Municipality
    • Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China, 100044
      • Recruiting
      • Peking University People's Hospital
      • Sub-Investigator: Meng Lv, MD PhD
      • Contact: Xiang-Yu Zhao, MD PhD; Phone Number: +861088324637; Email: zhao_xy@bjmu.edu.cn
      • Principal Investigator: Xiang-Yu Zhao, MD PhD
      • Sub-Investigator: Xiao-Jun Huang, MD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. The subject or guardian understands and voluntarily signs the informed consent form (ICF).
2. Male or female, aged 3-70 years at the time of signing the ICF (inclusive).
3. Expected survival of at least 12 weeks.
4. ECOG performance status of 0-2 at the time of ICF signing.

5. Diagnosis of relapsed/refractory T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (R/R T-ALL/NHL) confirmed at screening and meeting at least one of the following criteria:

   1. Bone marrow involvement: Morphologic examination shows ≥5% lymphoblasts, and/or
   2. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) involvement: Tumor cells detected in CSF, and/or
   3. Extramedullary disease: Presence of measurable lesions (lymph node/mass ≥1.5 cm in axial diameter or extranodal lesion ≥1 cm in axial diameter).
   4. CD5 expression: Tumor cells in bone marrow, peripheral blood, or CSF are CD5-positive by flow cytometry, and/or lymph node/mass or extranodal lesions are CD5-positive by pathology.

6. Adequate major organ function, defined as:

   1. AST and ALT ≤5× upper limit of normal (ULN).
   2. Total bilirubin ≤2× ULN.
   3. Renal function: Serum creatinine clearance ≥60 mL/min (Cockcroft-Gault formula) or creatinine ≤1.5× ULN.
7. Blood oxygen saturation >92%.

8. Reproductive health requirements:

   • Fertile men and women of childbearing potential must agree to use effective contraception from ICF signing until 2 years after study drug administration.
   • Women of childbearing potential (pre-menopausal or within 2 years post-menopause) must have a negative blood pregnancy test at screening.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. History of central nervous system (CNS) diseases, including but not limited to:

   • Epilepsy
   • Paralysis
   • Aphasia
   • Stroke
   • Severe brain injury
   • Dementia
   • Parkinson's disease
   • Neuropathy

2. History of autoimmune diseases requiring systemic immunosuppressive therapy within 2 years prior to signing the ICF, including but not limited to:

   • Crohn's disease
   • Rheumatoid arthritis
   • Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
   • Systemic sclerosis
   • Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
   • Vasculitis
   • Psoriasis
3. Presence of any uncontrolled active infection at the time of signing the ICF or within 4 weeks prior to apheresis that requires antibiotic, antiviral, or antifungal treatment.

4. Positive virological or infectious disease markers, including:

   • Hepatitis B virus (HBV): Subjects with positive HBsAg or HBcAb-positive at screening must have undetectable HBV DNA in peripheral blood to be eligible; otherwise, they should be excluded.
   • Hepatitis C virus (HCV): Subjects with positive HCV antibodies and detectable HCV RNA should be excluded.
   • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody-positive subjects should be excluded.
   • Cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA test-positive subjects should be excluded.
   • Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA test-positive subjects should be excluded.
   • Positive serological or non-specific antibodies for Treponema pallidum (syphilis).

5. Clinically significant cardiovascular diseases, including any of the following:

   1. QTc interval ≥480 ms (Fridericia correction formula)
   2. New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II or higher heart failure
   3. Unstable angina or acute myocardial infarction within 6 months prior to signing the ICF
   4. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <50%
   5. Poorly controlled hypertension (as determined by the investigator)

   6. Clinically significant arrhythmias or those requiring antiarrhythmic treatment, including:

      • Persistent ventricular tachycardia
      • Ventricular fibrillation
      • Torsades de pointes
      • Complete left bundle branch block
6. History of severe hypersensitivity or allergy to any components of the study drug.
7. Receipt of any investigational drug therapy or other systemic antitumor therapy within 4 weeks before apheresis (or 5 half-lives of the drug, whichever is longer, as determined by the investigator).
8. Receipt of extensive radiotherapy within 4 weeks prior to signing the ICF, except for palliative radiotherapy for non-target lesions within 2 weeks before signing the ICF or as expected during the study.
9. Unresolved toxicity from prior antitumor therapy that has not returned to Grade 1 or baseline levels at the time of signing the ICF, except for hair loss and pigmentation (per NCI-CTCAE v5.0).

10. Requirement for systemic corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive therapy (≥10 mg/day prednisone or equivalent) within 3 days prior to apheresis or during the study period, except for:

    1. Intranasal, inhaled, or topical steroids, or localized steroid injections (e.g., intra-articular injections)
    2. Systemic corticosteroids ≤10 mg/day prednisone (or equivalent physiological dose)
    3. Steroids as prophylaxis for allergic reactions (e.g., pre-medication before contrast-enhanced CT)
    4. Steroids used for symptomatic treatment of transfusion-related reactions
11. Major surgery within 4 weeks prior to signing the ICF (excluding routine biopsy procedures) or planned major surgery during the study period.
12. History of active tuberculosis infection within 1 year prior to signing the ICF, except for subjects with a history of tuberculosis more than 1 year ago, provided that the investigator determines there is no evidence of active tuberculosis.

13. History of other primary malignancies within 5 years prior to signing the ICF, except for:

    1. Adequately treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix
    2. Localized basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
14. Receipt of live-attenuated or inactivated vaccines within 4 weeks before signing the ICF or planned vaccination during the screening period.
15. Any other condition or complication that, in the investigator's judgment, may affect adherence to the study protocol or make the subject unsuitable for participation.
16. Pregnancy or lactation.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: CD5-targeted CAR-T cells; Eligible patients will receive a single infusion of CD5-targeted CAR-T cells at 3+3 dose-escalation design. Phase II: Patients will receive CD5-targeted CAR-T cells at the RP2D.

Biological: CD5-targeted CAR-T cells; Phase I: Eligible patients will receive a single infusion of CD5-targeted CAR-T cells at one of three dose levels (0.5 × 10⁶ cells/kg, 1.0 × 10⁶ cells/kg, or 2.0 × 10⁶ cells/kg) following fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) lymphodepleting chemotherapy. A 3+3 dose-escalation design will be used to determine the recommended Phase II dose (RP2D) based on safety, dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), and preliminary efficacy. Phase II: Patients will receive CD5-targeted CAR-T cells at the RP2D following FC lymphodepleting chemotherapy.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
DLT (Dose-Limiting Toxicity)	CRS and ICANS will be assessed per ASTCT (2019), while other AEs follow CTCAE v5.0. DLTs are CAR-T-related AEs that occur within 28 days post-infusion and meet the following criteria: Grade 4+ CRS, or Grade 3 CRS unresolved to ≤ Grade 2 within 7 days. Grade 3+ non-hematologic toxicity unresolved to ≤ Grade 2 within 7 days. Grade 4+ ICANS, or Grade 3 ICANS unresolved to ≤ Grade 2 within 3 days. Grade 3+ hypersensitivity reaction. Any unexpected toxicity requiring study discontinuation. Exemptions: Rapid hypersensitivity resolving to ≤ Grade 2 in 2 hours. Reversible Grade 3 AEs lasting ≤7 days. Transient CRS-related organ dysfunction, resolving in ≤7 days per SRC. All DLTs are reviewed by the Safety Review Committee (SRC).	Day28 after CAR-T cell infusion
Overall Response Rate (ORR)	ORR is defined as the proportion of patients achieving Complete Remission (CR), Complete Remission with Incomplete Hematologic Recovery (CRi), or Morphologic Leukemia-Free State (MLFS) per European LeukemiaNet (ELN) 2022 for T-ALL and Lugano/Lyric 2016 for T-NHL. CR: <5% blasts in bone marrow, no circulating blasts/extramedullary disease, ANC >1.0 × 10⁹/L, platelets >100 × 10⁹/L, MRD-negative. CRi: Meets CR but lacks full hematologic recovery. MLFS: <5% blasts, no hematologic recovery required. Lugano 2016 (T-NHL): CR = complete metabolic response on PET-CT; PR = ≥50% tumor reduction.	Within 3 months after CAR-T cell infusion

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall Survival (OS)	Overall Survival (OS) is defined as the time from the date of CD5-targeted CAR-T cell infusion until death from any cause. Patients alive at the time of analysis will be censored at the date of last follow-up.	Within 2-year after CAR-T cell infusion
Progression-Free Survival (PFS)	Progression-Free Survival (PFS) is defined as the time from the date of first documented Complete Remission (CR), Complete Remission with Incomplete Hematologic Recovery (CRi), or Morphologic Leukemia-Free State (MLFS) until the date of bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood (PB) relapse, extramedullary disease (EMD) progression, or death from any cause, whichever occurs first. PFS will be assessed according to European LeukemiaNet (ELN) 2022 criteria for T-ALL and Lugano/Lyric 2016 criteria for T-NHL.	Within 2-year after CAR-T cell infusion

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Peking University People's Hospital
• Collaborators: Hebei Senlang Biotechnology Inc., Ltd.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 14, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 8, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 8, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 13, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 7, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 1, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: R/R T-ALL/LBL; CD5; R/R PTCL
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Immune System Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Hematologic Diseases; Lymphatic Diseases; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin; Lymphoma; Leukemia, Lymphoid; Leukemia; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases; Lymphoma, T-Cell; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2025PHD001-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No