LME-Guided Precision Combination Therapy in B-cell Lymphoma Patients After CD19 CAR-T Failure

May 15, 2026 updated by: Ruijin Hospital

An Exploratory, Two-Arm Study of LME Subtype-Guided Precision Combination Therapy Strategies in Patients With B-Cell Lymphoma After CD19 CAR-T Therapy Failure

This study evaluates a personalized treatment strategy for patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) whose disease has relapsed or not responded after CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. Researchers believe that the area surrounding the tumor, called the lymphoma microenvironment (LME), plays a major role in why treatments fail.

In this study, researchers will classify patients into four different LME subtypes (GC, IN, ME, or DE) using a standard lab test on their tumor samples. Patients will then be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The control group will receive a standard single-drug therapy (glofitamab). The experimental group will receive a tailored combination therapy based specifically on their tumor's LME subtype. The main hypothesis of this study is that customizing the treatment based on the tumor's microenvironment will significantly improve how long patients live without their disease getting worse (progression-free survival) compared to the standard single-drug approach.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy targeting CD19 has significantly improved outcomes for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (R/R LBCL). However, a substantial number of patients still experience treatment failure, and their prognosis is historically very poor, with limited standard treatment options available. Recent scientific evidence suggests that the tumor microenvironment-a complex ecosystem of immune cells, structural cells, and signals surrounding the lymphoma-acts as a critical barrier that drives resistance to CAR-T and other immunotherapies.

This prospective, open-label, randomized clinical trial introduces a "microenvironment-guided" precision immunotherapy approach. Researchers utilize a practical immunohistochemistry (IHC)-based classification system to categorize the lymphoma microenvironment (LME) of each patient into four distinct subtypes: Germinal Center-like (GC), Interstitial (IN), Mesenchymal (ME), and Depleted (DE). Each subtype corresponds to a specific immune suppression mechanism or survival pathway.

Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either an experimental group or a control group.

Control Group: Participants will receive monotherapy with glofitamab, a CD3xCD20 bispecific antibody.

Experimental Group: Participants will receive a tailored combination regimen built upon a glofitamab backbone. The additional therapies are specifically matched to their LME subtype to overcome their unique resistance mechanisms. The regimens include:

GC Type: Glofitamab + a BCL-2 inhibitor IN Type: Glofitamab + a PD-1 inhibitor + Lenalidomide ME Type: Glofitamab + local radiotherapy + a BTK inhibitor DE Type: Glofitamab + Chidamide (an HDAC inhibitor) By systematically matching therapies to the specific vulnerabilities of the patient's tumor microenvironment, this study aims to break CAR-T resistance, achieve deeper remissions, and establish a new biomarker-driven treatment paradigm for this challenging clinical scenario.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Phase 2

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 Locations

  • China
    • Shanghai Municipality
      • Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China, 200020
        • Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai,
        • Contact:

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 18 years, regardless of gender.
  • Histologically confirmed large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL, not otherwise specified) or high-grade B-cell lymphoma.
  • Received prior CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.
  • Confirmed stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD) at the most recent imaging assessment (according to Lugano 2014 criteria) following CAR-T therapy.
  • Able to provide a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue sample (fresh biopsy or archival specimen obtained before CAR-T therapy or after recent progression) with sufficient quantity and quality for immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing.
  • Confirmed CD20-positive tumor cells by central laboratory IHC testing.
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score of 0, 1, or 2.
  • Adequate organ function (including bone marrow, liver, kidney, and heart).
  • Women of childbearing potential must agree to use highly effective contraception during the study and for a specified period after the last dose of study drug; male patients must agree to use effective contraception during the study and for a specified period after the last dose.
  • Voluntarily agreed to participate in the study, signed the written informed consent form, and willing to comply with the study visit schedule and other protocol requirements.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior treatment with glofitamab resulting in disease progression.
  • Known severe allergic reactions to any components of the study drugs.
  • Active central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma involvement.
  • Presence of a severe, uncontrolled active infection.
  • Presence of severe cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases, uncontrolled diabetes, or uncontrolled hypertension that, in the investigator's judgment, makes the patient unsuitable for study participation.
  • History of or current other malignancies (exceptions: adequately treated basal cell carcinoma of the skin, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, etc.).
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  • Positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody, or active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (HBsAg positive with HBV-DNA > 1x10^3 copies/mL), or active hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (HCV antibody positive and HCV-RNA positive).
  • Any medical or psychiatric condition that might interfere with study execution or result interpretation, or place the patient at unacceptable risk.
  • Received other anti-tumor therapies (including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, etc.) within 2 weeks prior to study enrollment, or have not recovered from toxicities of prior therapies to ≤ Grade 1 or baseline levels (excluding alopecia or other irreversible but non-clinically significant toxicities).

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental: LME-Guided Combination Therapy

Participants receive a tailored combination therapy based on their baseline Lymphoma Microenvironment (LME) subtype identified via immunohistochemistry (IHC). The specific regimens are:

GC Type: Glofitamab combined with a BCL-2 inhibitor.

IN Type: Glofitamab combined with a PD-1 inhibitor and lenalidomide.

ME Type: Glofitamab combined with local radiotherapy and a BTK inhibitor.

DE Type: Glofitamab combined with chidamide (an HDAC inhibitor).
Combination product: LME-Guided Combination Therapy Regimen

Participants in this arm receive a tailored combination therapy based on their baseline Lymphoma Microenvironment (LME) subtype identified via immunohistochemistry (IHC). The regimens are built on a glofitamab backbone:

GC Type: Glofitamab + BCL-2 inhibitor (e.g., Lisaftoclax/Venetoclax)

IN Type: Glofitamab + PD-1 inhibitor (e.g., Tislelizumab) + Lenalidomide

ME Type: Glofitamab + Local Radiotherapy + BTK inhibitor (e.g., Zanubrutinib)

DE Type: Glofitamab + HDAC inhibitor (e.g., Chidamide)
Active Comparator: Active Comparator: Glofitamab Monotherapy
All participants in this control arm receive single-agent therapy with the CD3xCD20 bispecific antibody glofitamab. The drug will be administered according to the approved product label and standard clinical practice.
Drug: Glofitamab Monotherapy
Participants receive glofitamab as a single agent. Administered intravenously. Cycle 1 uses a step-up dosing schedule (e.g., 2.5mg on Day 1, 10mg on Day 8), followed by a target dose (e.g., 30mg) on Day 15 and every 3 weeks thereafter. Pretreatment with obinutuzumab 1000mg is given one week prior to the first dose.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Progression-Free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: From the date of randomization until the first documented disease progression or death from any cause, whichever occurs first, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
PFS is defined as the time from the date of randomization to the date of first documented disease progression (PD) or death from any cause, whichever occurs first. Disease response and progression will be assessed by a Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) according to the Lugano 2014 classification criteria for lymphoma.
From the date of randomization until the first documented disease progression or death from any cause, whichever occurs first, assessed up to approximately 24 months.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Objective Response Rate (ORR)
Time Frame: From the date of randomization until the first documented disease progression or death from any cause, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
ORR is defined as the proportion of participants who achieve a Best Overall Response of Complete Response (CR) or Partial Response (PR). Response will be assessed by a Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) according to the Lugano 2014 classification criteria for lymphoma.
From the date of randomization until the first documented disease progression or death from any cause, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
Complete Response Rate (CRR)
Time Frame: From the date of randomization until the first documented disease progression or death from any cause, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
CRR is defined as the proportion of participants who achieve a Best Overall Response of Complete Response (CR), as assessed by the BICR according to the Lugano 2014 classification criteria.
From the date of randomization until the first documented disease progression or death from any cause, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
Duration of Response (DOR)
Time Frame: From the date of first documented response (Complete Response or Partial Response) until the first documented disease progression or death from any cause, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
DOR is defined as the time from the date of the first documented response (CR or PR) to the date of first documented disease progression (assessed by BICR per Lugano 2014 criteria) or death from any cause, whichever occurs first.
From the date of first documented response (Complete Response or Partial Response) until the first documented disease progression or death from any cause, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
Overall Survival (OS)
Time Frame: From the date of randomization until the date of death from any cause, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
OS is defined as the time from the date of randomization to the date of death from any cause.
From the date of randomization until the date of death from any cause, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
Incidence and Severity of Adverse Events (AEs)
Time Frame: From the first dose of study treatment until 90 days after the last dose of study treatment, assessed up to approximately 24 months.
Safety will be evaluated by monitoring the incidence, severity, and causality of adverse events. The severity of general AEs will be graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE) version 5.0. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) will be specifically graded using the ASTCT consensus criteria.
From the first dose of study treatment until 90 days after the last dose of study treatment, assessed up to approximately 24 months.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ruijin Hospital

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 (Estimated)

May 14, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 14, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 15, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 22, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 15, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • POST-CART-LME

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

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.

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