T-cells or EBV Specific CTLs, Advanced B-Cell NHL and CLL

Overview

Patients on this study have a type of lymph gland cancer called non-Hodgkin Lymphoma or chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Their lymphoma or CLL has come back or has not gone away after treatment. Because there is no standard treatment for the cancer at this time or because the currently used treatments do not work fully in all cases, patients are being asked to volunteer to take part in a gene transfer research study using special immune cells. The body has different ways of fighting infection and disease. No single way seems perfect for fighting cancers. This research study combines two different ways of fighting disease: antibodies and T cells. Antibodies are types of proteins that protect the body from infectious diseases and possibly cancer. T cells, also called T lymphocytes, are special infection-fighting blood cells that can kill other cells, including cells infected with viruses and tumor cells. Both antibodies and T cells have been used to treat patients with cancers. They have shown promise, but have not been strong enough to cure most patients. The antibody used in this study is called anti-CD19. This antibody sticks to lymphoma cells because of a substance on the outside of these cells called CD19. CD19 antibodies have been used to treat people with lymphoma and CLL. For this study, the anti-CD19 antibody has been changed so that instead of floating free in the blood it is now attached to T cells. When an antibody is joined to a T cell in this way it is called a chimeric receptor. These chimeric receptor-T cells seem to be able to kill tumors, but they don't last very long and so their chances of fighting the cancer are limited. Investigators found that T cells work better if they also attach a protein called CD28 to the T cells. This protein makes the T cells more active and survive longer. Also they found that T cells that are also trained to recognize the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis (called Epstein Barr Virus or EBV) can stay in the blood stream for many years. These CD19-CD28 chimeric receptor T cells and CD19 chimeric-EBV specific T cells are investigational products not approved by the FDA. The purpose of this study is to find the biggest dose of chimeric T cells that is safe to administer, to see how long each of the T cell populations (CD19-CD28 and CD19-EBV-specific) last, to assess what the side effects are, and to evaluate whether this therapy might help people with lymphoma or CLL.

The patient or their donor will give us blood to make CD19-CD28 chimeric receptor T cells and CD19 chimeric-EBV specific T cells in the laboratory. These cells are grown and frozen for the patient. Because the patient will have received cells with a new gene in them they will be followed for a total of 15 years to see if there are any long term side effects of gene transfer. The patient will be assigned a dose of CD19-CD28 chimeric receptor-T cells and CD19 chimeric receptor-EBV specific T cells. Several studies suggest that the infused T cells need room to be able to proliferate and accomplish their functions and that this may not happen if there are too many other T cells in circulation. Because of that, if the patient's level of circulating T cells is relatively high, they will receive one treatment of cyclophosphamide. This drug will decrease the numbers of the patient's own T cells before the infusion the CD19 chimeric receptor T cells. Although it's not expected to have any effect on the tumor with the dose that the subject will receive, this drug is part of many regimens that are used to treat lymphoma or CLL. If the subject is already receiving chemotherapy, this may not be needed. The patient will be given an injection of cells into the vein through an IV line at the assigned dose. The patient will be followed in the clinic after the injection for up to 3 hours. If after a 4-6 week evaluation period after the infusion, the patient seems to be experiencing a benefit (confirmed by radiological studies, physical exam and/or symptoms), they may be able to receive up to three additional doses of the T cells. These additional infusions would be at least 4-6 weeks apart and at the same dose level the patient received the first time.