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Updated May 2026 · ClinicalTrials.gov

RECRUITINGPhase 2INTERVENTIONAL

Personalized NK Cell Therapy in CBT

Personalized NK Cell Therapy in CBT (NCT02727803) is a Phase 2 interventional studying Accelerated Phase Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, BCR-ABL1 Positive and Acute Biphenotypic Leukemia, sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. RECRUITING as of the most recent ClinicalTrials.gov update. Talk to your doctor before contacting the trial site.

Important: This information is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

About This Trial

This phase II clinical trial studies how well personalized natural killer (NK) cell therapy works after chemotherapy and umbilical cord blood transplant in treating patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, leukemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma. This clinical trial will test cord blood (CB) selection for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-C1/x recipients based on HLA-killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) typing, and adoptive therapy with CB-derived NK cells for HLA-C2/C2 patients. Natural killer cells may kill tumor cells that remain in the body after chemotherapy treatment and lessen the risk of graft versus host disease after cord blood transplant.

What Stage of Research Is This?

Phase 2 trials evaluate whether a treatment actually works against Accelerated Phase Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, BCR-ABL1 Positive and continue monitoring side effects. Phase 2 enrolls larger groups (typically 100–300 patients) and produces the first real efficacy signal. A successful Phase 2 readout is what unlocks the much larger Phase 3 confirmatory trials needed for FDA approval.

This trial is currently recruiting participants. The sponsor has registered the study with ClinicalTrials.gov as actively enrolling, which means new applicants who meet the eligibility criteria can be considered for screening. Trial status can change between updates — confirm current recruiting status with the study contact before traveling for a screening visit.

Target enrollment of 100 participants puts this in the typical range for a Phase 2-style efficacy study or a moderate Phase 3 trial in a focused Accelerated Phase Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, BCR-ABL1 Positive subpopulation. At this scale, the study has enough statistical power to detect a clear treatment effect but is not the largest cohort in the field.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: - Patients must have one of the following hematologic malignancies: acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), induction failure, high-risk for relapse first remission (with intermediate-risk or high-risk cytogenetics including complex karyotype, abnormal \[abn\]\[3q\], -5/5q-, -7/7q-, abn\[12p\], abn\[17p\], myeloid/lymphoid or mixed-lineage leukemia \[MLL\] gene re-arrangement and t \[6;9\]47, fms related tyrosine kinase 3 \[flt3\] mutation positive and/or evidence of minimal residual disease by flow cytometry), secondary leukemia from prior chemotherapy and/or arising from myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), any disease beyond first remission - Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS): Primary or therapy related, including patients that will be considered for transplant; these include any of the following categories: 1) revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) intermediate and high risk groups, 2) malondialdehyde (MDA) with transfusion dependency, 3) failure to respond or progression of disease on hypomethylating agents, 4) refractory anemia with excess of blasts, 5) transformation to acute leukemia, 6) chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, 7) atypical MDS/myeloproliferative syndromes, 8) complex karyotype, abn(3g), -5/5g-, -7/7g-, abn(12p), abn(17p) - Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): Induction failure, primary refractory to treatment (do not achieve complete remission after first course of therapy) or are beyond first remission including second or greater remission or active disease; patients in first remission are eligible if they are considered high risk, defined as any of the following detected at any time: with translocations 9;22 or 4;11, hypodiploidy, complex karyotype, secondary leukemia developing after cytotoxic drug exposure, and/or evidence of minimal residual disease or acute biphenotypic leukemia, or double hit non-Hodgkin's lymphoma ...See full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

These are translations of the protocol\'s inclusion and exclusion criteria, simplified for patients and caregivers. The original clinical text appears below. Eligibility is ultimately confirmed by the trial site\'s screening process — this summary is a starting point for a conversation with your doctor, not a final determination.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have one of the following hematologic malignancies: acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), induction failure, high-risk for relapse first remission (with intermediate-risk or high-risk cytogenetics including complex karyotype, abnormal \[abn\]\[3q\], -5/5q-, -7/7q-, abn\[12p\], abn\[17p\], myeloid/lymphoid or mixed-lineage leukemia \[MLL\] gene re-arrangement and t \[6;9\]47, fms related tyrosine kinase 3 \[flt3\] mutation positive and/or evidence of minimal residual disease by flow cytometry), secondary leukemia from prior chemotherapy and/or arising from myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), any disease beyond first remission * Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS): Primary or therapy related, including patients that will be considered for transplant; these include any of the following categories: 1) revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) intermediate and high risk groups, 2) malondialdehyde (MDA) with transfusion dependency, 3) failure to respond or progression of disease on hypomethylating agents, 4) refractory anemia with excess of blasts, 5) transformation to acute leukemia, 6) chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, 7) atypical MDS/myeloproliferative syndromes, 8) complex karyotype, abn(3g), -5/5g-, -7/7g-, abn(12p), abn(17p) * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): Induction failure, primary refractory to treatment (do not achieve complete remission after first course of therapy) or are beyond first remission including second or greater remission or active disease; patients in first remission are eligible if they are considered high risk, defined as any of the following detected at any time: with translocations 9;22 or 4;11, hypodiploidy, complex karyotype, secondary leukemia developing after cytotoxic drug exposure, and/or evidence of minimal residual disease or acute biphenotypic leukemia, or double hit non-Hodgkin's lymphoma * Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in second or third complete remission, or relapse (including relapse post autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant); relapsed double hit lymphomas; patients with options for treatment that are known to be curative are not eligible * Small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with progressive disease following a minimum of two lines of standard therapy * Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) second chronic phase or accelerated phase * Hodgkin's disease (HD): Induction failures, after first complete remission, or relapse (including relapse post autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant), or those with active disease * Multiple myeloma: stage II or III, symptomatic, secretory multiple myeloma requiring treatment * A person (such as a haploidentical family member) or unit of cord blood must be identified as a source of back-up cells source in case of engraftment failure * Patient age criteria: age \>= 15 and =\< 45 years (myeloablative regimen 1; age \>= 15 and =\< 80 years (nonmyeloablative regimen 2) at the discretion of the investigator(s); age \>= 15 and =\< 80 years old that in the opinion of the investigator(s) would preclude myeloablative therapy may receive reduced intensity regimen 3 * Performance score of at least 60% by Karnofsky * Left ventricular ejection fraction of at least 40% (myeloablative regimen 1, reduced intensity regimen 3) * Left ventricular ejection fraction of at least 30% (nonmyeloablative regimen 2) * Pulmonary function test (PFT) demonstrating an adjusted diffusion capacity of least 50% predicted value for hemoglobin concentration (myeloablative regimen 1, reduced intensity regimen 3) * Serum creatinine within normal range, or if serum creatinine outside normal range, then renal function (measured or estimated creatinine clearance or glomerular filtration rate \[GFR\]) \> 40mL/min/1.73 m\^2 * Serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT)/bilirubin \< to 2.0 x normal (myeloablative regimen 1), reduced intensity regimen 3; SGPT/bilirubin \< to 4.0 x normal (nonmyeloablative regimen 2) * Negative beta human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) test in a woman with child bearing potential defined as not post-menopausal for 12 months * Patients with options for treatment that are known to be curative are not eligible * Patients enrolled in this study may be enrolled on other supportive care investigational new drug (IND) studies at the discretion of the principal investigator (PI) Exclusion Criteria: * Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive; HIV results will be determined by nucleic acid testing * Uncontrolled serious medical condition such as persistent septicemia despite adequate antibiotic therapy, decompensated congestive heart failure despite cardiac medications or pulmonary insufficiency requiring intubation (excluding primary disease for which cord blood \[CB\] transplantation is proposed), or psychiatric condition that would limit informed consent * Active central nervous system (CNS) disease in patient with history of CNS malignancy * Availability of appropriate, willing, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched related stem cell donor

Treatments Being Tested

BIOLOGICAL

Allogeneic Natural Killer Cell Line NK-92

Given IV

BIOLOGICAL

Anti-Thymocyte Globulin

Given IV

DRUG

Busulfan

Given IV

DRUG

Clofarabine

Given IV

DRUG

Cyclophosphamide

Given IV

DRUG

Fludarabine Phosphate

Given IV

OTHER

Laboratory Biomarker Analysis

Correlative studies

DRUG

Melphalan

Given IV

BIOLOGICAL

Rituximab

Given IV

RADIATION

Total-Body Irradiation

Undergo total body irradiation

PROCEDURE

Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation

Undergo umbilical cord blood transplantation

Locations (1)

Trial sites listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for this study. Site activation status can vary — confirm with the specific site before traveling for a screening visit.

M D Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, United States

How to Talk to Your Doctor About This Trial

Bring the printable summary of this trial — including the NCT ID (NCT02727803), the sponsor (M.D. Anderson Cancer Center), and the key eligibility criteria — to your next appointment. Your doctor can review the inclusion and exclusion criteria against your medical history, lab values, and current treatments to assess whether you are likely to qualify. They can also help you weigh whether trial participation makes sense alongside your existing care plan.

Useful questions to walk through together: What does the trial protocol require beyond standard care? How long is the active treatment phase, and how long is follow-up? Are there study visits at sites I can reach? Who pays for the trial-specific procedures, and who pays for standard-of-care portions? See our 25 questions to ask about clinical trials guide for a more complete checklist.

Authoritative Sources

The official record for this trial lives on ClinicalTrials.gov — the federal registry maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. For background on how this trial fits into the FDA approval pathway, see the FDA drug approval process. For oncology-specific guidance for patients considering trials, the National Cancer Institute publishes patient-oriented overviews. International trial registries are aggregated by the WHO ICTRP.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NCT02727803 clinical trial studying?

This phase II clinical trial studies how well personalized natural killer (NK) cell therapy works after chemotherapy and umbilical cord blood transplant in treating patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, leukemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma. This clinical trial will test cord blood (CB) selection for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-C1/x recipients based on HLA-killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) typing, and adoptive therapy with CB-derived NK cells for HLA-C2/C2 patients. Natural killer cells may kill tumor cells that remain in the body after chemotherapy treatment and lessen the r… The full protocol is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and includes the primary outcome measures, eligibility criteria, and study endpoints.

Who can participate in NCT02727803?

Eligibility for this trial depends on the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria set by the sponsor. The plain-English summary above translates the most important criteria into accessible language; the official clinical text is preserved in the collapsible section underneath. Whether you fit any specific trial is a medical decision your doctor needs to confirm — bring the trial information to your treating physician for a full review against your medical history.

How do I contact the trial site for NCT02727803?

Contact information registered with ClinicalTrials.gov is shown in the sidebar of this page. Before reaching out, confirm with your treating physician that this trial is appropriate for your situation. The trial site will then walk you through the screening process to determine final eligibility.

Is participating in a clinical trial safe?

Clinical trials in the United States are regulated by the FDA and overseen by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) that review the protocol for safety. Risk varies by trial — Phase 1 studies test new treatments in humans for the first time, while Phase 3 trials use treatments that have already passed earlier safety screening. The informed consent document for any specific trial details the known risks and what to expect. Discuss those risks with your physician before deciding whether to participate.

Where can I verify the data on this page?

Every detail on this page comes directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov API. Click "View on ClinicalTrials.gov" in the sidebar to see the official, unmodified record. The federal record is always authoritative; this page is a structured presentation with a plain-English eligibility translation. For background on how clinical trials are regulated, see the FDA drug approval process documentation.

How This Page Is Built

Every field on this page is pulled directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 — no estimates, no proxies. The plain-English eligibility translation is generated from the original protocol text and reviewed for fidelity to the underlying clinical criteria. The original clinical text remains visible in the collapsible section above so users and clinicians can verify the translation. Read the full methodology for the data pipeline and known limitations.

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 record for NCT02727803. Maintained by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. Public domain. Cite as: "TrialFinderData. NCT02727803. Data: ClinicalTrials.gov."

Medical disclaimer: This page is informational, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

Last updated 2026-05-08 · Data from ClinicalTrials.gov.