Intraventricular B7-H3 CAR T cells for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: preliminary first-in-human bioactivity and safety

Abstract Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) remains a fatal brainstem tumor demanding innovative therapies. As B7-H3 (CD276) is expressed on central nervous system (CNS) tumors, we designed B7-H3-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, confirmed their preclinical efficacy, and opened BrainChild-03 (NCT04185038), a first-in-human phase 1 trial employing repeated locoregional B7-H3CARs to children with recurrent/refractory CNS tumors and DIPG. Here, we report results of the first 3 evaluable patients with DIPG (including two who enrolled after progression), who received 40 infusions with no dose-limiting toxicities. One patient had sustained clinical and radiographic improvement through 12 months on study. Patients exhibited correlative evidence of local immune activation and persistent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) B7-H3CARs. Targeted mass spectrometry of CSF biospecimens revealed modulation in B7-H3 and critical immune analytes (CD14, CD163, CSF-1, CXCL13, and VCAM-1). Our data suggest the feasibility of repeated intracranial B7-H3CAR dosing, and that intracranial delivery may induce local immune activation.