How to find out if you're eligible to join a CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial

While it’s not yet available to everyone, clinical trials are opening new doors for patients who once had few options left.

What Is CAR T-Cell Therapy?

CAR T-cell therapy is a form of treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. Doctors collect a patient’s T-cells (a type of white blood cell) and genetically reprogram them to recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively. Once these engineered cells are infused back into the patient, they work like a living drug, continuing to hunt down cancer cells over time.

Why Clinical Trials Matter

CAR T-cell therapy is approved for certain blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. However, researchers are now testing it in clinical trials to expand its use:

• Solid tumors: Trials are investigating whether CAR T can target cancers like pancreatic or brain tumors.
• Earlier stages of blood cancers: Some studies are testing CAR T before standard treatments fail.
• New safety approaches: Researchers are refining the therapy to reduce serious side effects such as cytokine release syndrome.

For many patients, joining a clinical trial could mean access to cutting-edge treatments years before they become widely available.

Who May Qualify?

Eligibility varies by trial, but common requirements include:

• Diagnosis of a specific cancer type (often relapsed or resistant to other treatments).
• Adequate overall health to withstand the therapy.
• Previous attempts with standard treatments.
• Meeting age or lab-test criteria set by the study.

A cancer center offering CAR T trials will perform detailed evaluations to determine if a patient qualifies.

Risks and Benefits

Benefits: Some patients in trials have achieved long-term remission when other treatments had failed.
Risks: CAR T is still experimental in many cancers. Side effects can be severe, and long-term outcomes aren’t fully known.

Bottom Line

CAR T-cell therapy clinical trials offer a chance to access one of the most exciting cancer treatments in decades. If you or a loved one is exploring every option, asking your oncologist about current CAR T trials could reveal opportunities you didn’t know existed.

What Are Some Active CAR T-Cell Therapy Trials?

CAR T therapy is being explored across a variety of cancers today:

• A phase I study (NCT03696030) is testing HER2-CAR T cells in patients with brain metastases or leptomeningeal disease. ClinicalTrials.gov
• In solid tumors positive for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), NCT06010862 is evaluating safety and tolerability of CEA-targeted CAR T. ClinicalTrials.gov
• Another trial, NCT01387497 / NCT03874897, is testing CLDN18.2-directed CAR T cells in gastrointestinal cancers. ClinicalTrials.gov
• For relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, NCT05666700 is investigating a novel CAR T product in patients who have exhausted standard therapies. ClinicalTrials.gov

References

• “CAR T Cells: Engineering Immune Cells to Treat Cancer” — covers approved uses, clinical trials, challenges, and recent developments. Cancer.gov
• Clinical Trials Using Therapeutic Allogeneic Lymphocytes — NCI page listing trials involving engineered immune cells. Cancer.gov
• Hollings Cancer Center (MUSC): A new trial using a “purified” version of CAR-T cells in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma got an NCI grant for expansion. Early patients show good results with lower side effects. hollingscancercenter.musc.edu
• Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSKCC): MSK received NCI funding to push forward high-risk, translational CAR-T research in solid tumors (e.g. mesothelioma, triple-negative breast cancer) with novel engineering approaches. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• KU Cancer Center: Launched a "Triple Threat" CAR T clinical trial targeting three antigens (CD19, CD20, CD22) in B-cell cancers to overcome resistance. kucancercenter.org