IL13Ra2 Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells for Metastatic Melanoma

Despite success with immunotherapy, most patients with advanced melanoma are not cured with existing treatments and have limited treatment options when their tumors grow or recur. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a type of treatment where a patient’s own T cells are engineered with a molecule that can help those T cells recognize and kill cancer cells. In this team science proposal, the investigators from UCLA and City of Hope are proposing a clinical trial using a CAR T cell that can recognize and kill melanoma cells that express a protein called IL13Ra2. For this study, patients with metastatic melanoma will be tested to see if their tumor expresses the IL13Ra2 protein. If so, T cells from the patient will be collected at City of Hope and engineered in a laboratory to express the CAR so that the T cells can recognize IL13Ra2 and kill melanoma cells. The patients will then be admitted to the hospital at UCLA, where their own engineered T cells will be given to them through a vein. The investigators will monitor the patients closely to test for the safety of this treatment, and to determine what the best dose of CAR T cells may be. Patients will also have imaging scans to see if the treatment caused the tumor(s) to decrease in size. In addition, tumor specimens and blood will be collected from the patients at different times to study the ability of the CAR T cells to survive within the patient and make their way into the tumor. The investigators will also examine if CAR T cells help the body’s existing immune system to start fighting the tumor.