In a phase I national clinical trial for people with certain types of gastrointestinal cancers, researchers are testing a chimeric antigen T-cell therapy (CAR T-cell therapy) called LB1908. The trial will determine if it is effective; at what dose; and if it is a safe, tolerable treatment. Ben George, MD, principal investigator, and Alexandra Phan, MD, co-principal investigator, both medical oncologists and Medical College of Wisconsin researchers, are leading the trial locally.
The Challenge of Treating Advanced Gastrointestinal Cancers
“Treating people with stomach, gastroesophageal junction, and esophagus and pancreas adenocarcinomas can be challenging because symptoms do not appear until the cancers are in more advanced stages,” Dr. George said. “For this reason, many people no longer have the option of surgery. Others may have cancer that no longer responds to standard therapies or their cancer has come back after treatment.”
How CAR T-Cell Therapy Works
CAR T-cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy strengthens a person's immune system so it is better able to fight cancer. T cells are removed from a patient’s blood and sent to a lab. There, the T cells are re-engineered to target and eliminate specific proteins produced by cancer cells — proteins that cause cancer growth. In the case of LB1908, the target is Claudin 18.2, a protein expressed by 50% to 70% of tumors in people with gastrointestinal cancers.
The re-engineered T cells are multiplied — many times over — before being returned to the patient's bloodstream to fight their cancer.
“While this is an early trial, we hope to establish safe, tolerable doses of LB1908 that may lead to additional trials and more effective therapies for people with gastrointestinal cancers,” Dr. George said. “Treatments are better than they were 10 years ago, but they are still limited for these advanced or metastatic diseases. Clinical trials are the pathway to new options that may change the long-term outlook for our patients.”
