A new study published in Nature Medicine details the results of a phase 1/2 clinical trial using autologous T cell therapy to target pancreatic cancer. The TACTOPS trial was led by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children’s Hospital, and Houston Methodist Hospital.
“We wanted to develop a targeted therapeutic that would hone the immune system on tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) that were present on malignant cells. We targeted five different antigens to deal with the polyclonal nature of the disease,” said co-corresponding author Dr. Ann Leen, professor of pediatrics – hematology and oncology in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy.
“Pancreatic cancer doesn’t look as foreign to the immune system as other cancers do. This novel immunotherapy may help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells in a way that other immunotherapies have not been able to do thus far,” said co-corresponding author Dr. Benjamin Musher, professor of medicine at Baylor and medical director of medical oncology at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The trial enrolled patients into three groups: those with advanced disease responding to first-line chemotherapy (Arm A), those with metastatic disease who had progressed after first-line chemotherapy (Arm B), and those with surgically resectable disease (Arm C). Each participant provided blood samples used to manufacture individualized T cell therapies at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy. In total, 37 participants received six monthly infusions.
Results showed an 84.6% disease control rate among patients in Arm A. In Arm C, two out of nine patients remained free from disease more than five years after surgery. Only 25% disease control was observed in Arm B. Across all cohorts, only one possibly treatment-related serious adverse side effect occurred.
Positive outcomes were linked with expansion and persistence of infused T cells in patient blood during therapy compared to baseline samples. Researchers are using these findings to refine future trials that may test T cell therapy alone or combined with other immune treatments.
“Nationwide, only 5% of pancreatic cancer patients enroll in clinical trials,” Musher said. “To improve pancreatic cancer outcomes meaningfully, we must explore all possible treatment options and enroll more patients in clinical trials. Studies like ours, which include robust correlative science, help us learn from successes and failures and facilitate further advances. They also provide patients with much-needed hope while helping them feel part of something larger than themselves.”
“The clinical and translational science expertise at Baylor within the Duncan Cancer Center and the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy enables our team to conduct complex trials that reach patients at different disease stages,” Leen said. “We could not accomplish this without strong collaboration between the lab and clinic, the excellent work of our regulatory team and top tier good manufacturing practices (GMP) facility.”
Drs. Spyridoula Vasileiou and Brandon G. Smaglo served as co-first authors along with Musher on this publication; additional contributors included Catherine S. Robertson, Mengfen Wu, Tao Wang, Ayumi Watanabe, Manik Kuvalekar, Yovana Velazquez, Shamika Ketkar, Tamadar Al Doheyan, Penelope G. Papayanni, Aakash Shah, Natalia Lapteva, Bambi J. Grilley, George Van Buren, Premal D. Lulla, Helen E. Heslop, Cliona M. Rooney and Malcolm K. Brenner—all affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine or its partner institutions during this research.
Baylor College of Medicine is an independent health sciences university based in Houston's Texas Medical Center since moving there in 1943 official website. The institution focuses on education through several schools dedicated to medicine-related fields while advancing research innovation official website. Patient care is delivered via partnerships across Houston official website, supporting its mission alongside community service initiatives official website.
