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Taking people in ChinaPhase 2

Donor NK cells added to immunotherapy for small cell lung cancer after first treatment

Tests donor NK cells plus immunotherapy in adults with extensive small cell lung cancer.

Key facts

Who runs it
Tianjin First Central Hospital
Where
Tianjin, ChinaSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
NK Cells Plus ICI for SCLC Maintenance
Status
Recruiting
Phase
Phase 2
People taking part
42 people, planned
Started
Aug 2026
Expected to end
Aug 2029
Type of study
Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Allogeneic Natural Killer Cells
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor
Record updated
12 August 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer whose disease is under control after first-line chemotherapy plus immunotherapy. It tests adding NK cells to immunotherapy.

Age
18 years or older
Sex
All sexes
Disease stage
Extensive-stage (or metastatic) small cell lung cancer, with measurable tumours. Limited-stage disease that came back more than 6 months after treatment and became extensive-stage can also join. Disease must be stable, partly shrunk or gone after 4 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy.
Earlier treatment
4 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy, at least 2 of them together with an immune checkpoint inhibitor. At least 4 weeks since major surgery or trauma, and at least 1 week since a minor procedure such as a biopsy.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Active or untreated brain or spinal cord (CNS) metastases
  • Autoimmune disease needing whole-body treatment in the past 2 years
  • Interstitial lung disease
  • Another cancer that is progressing or needs active treatment in the past 3 years
  • Live vaccine within 30 days before the first dose

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 2 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • 1: Male or female, aged 18 years or above; 2: ECOG score 0-2; 3: metastatic or extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) confirmed by histology or cytology, followed by 4 cycles of platinum-based doublet-chemotherapy with at least 2 cycles of immune checkpoint inhibitor plus chemotherapy. And stable disease (SD), partial response (PR), or complete response (CR) as assessed by imaging (RECIST1.1 criteria) after the last treatment. (The checkpoint inhibitors used were those recommended by the NCCN, ESMO, and CSCO guidelines for extensivestage SCLC, including but not limited to: Duvalumab, atezolizumab, slulizumab, adbelimumab, toripalimab, etc.); 4: After standard concurrent chemoradiotherapy, LS-SCLC could be enrolled in this study if sensitive relapse (relapse more than 6 months after the end of first-line treatment) progressed to extensive-stage (Ed) and met the inclusion criteria No.3; 5: At least 4 weeks after major surgery or trauma, and the wound must be completely healed; At least 1 week after minor surgical procedures or trauma (e.g., tissue biopsy or fine-needle aspiration); 6: Objective measurable lesions according to RECIST 1.1 criteria; 7: predicted survival time ≥1 year; 8: bone marrow function: ANC≥1.5×109/L, HB≥70 g/L (blood transfusion allowed), PLT≥80×109/L; 9: Liver function: ALT≤3×ULN, AST≤3×ULN, TBIL≤2×ULN (patients with liver metastasis ALT≤5×ULN, AST≤5×ULN, TBIL≤2×ULN) Child-Pugh score ≤7; Renal function: uric acid <500 μmol/L, serum creatinine <1.7 mg/dL, proteinuria ≤2+ or ≤2g/24h, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ≥60 ml/min/1.73m2; 10: no history of autoimmune diseases or current autoimmune diseases; 11: The subjects voluntarily participated in the study, signed the informed consent form, communicated well with the investigators, and completed the study in accordance with the protocol

Who cannot take part

  • 1:Participate in other clinical trials or use other research drugs or equipment within 4 weeks of the first treatment; 2: During the screening period and previous imaging evaluation, active or untreated CNS metastasis was found by CT scanning or MRI. Patients with asymptomatic CNS metastasis who had been treated in the past can participate in this study as long as they meet all the following criteria: corticosteroids are not needed to treat CNS diseases, and imaging examination has not found any progress from the end of CNS directional treatment to the screening period。 If new asymptomatic CNS metastases are found in patients during the screening period, they must undergo radiotherapy and/or CNS metastasis surgery; 3: The effusion in the third space with clinical symptoms needs repeated drainage (for example, less than once every four weeks), such as pericardial effusion, pleural effusion and peritoneal effusion that are still uncontrollable after pumping or other treatments; 4: Live vaccine was inoculated within 30 days before the first administration of the study drug. Live vaccines include but are not limited to measles, mumps, minute needle, chickenpox/herpes zoster, rabies, BCG, typhoid vaccine, etc. Seasonal influenza vaccine for injection is generally inactivated virus vaccine, which is allowed to be used; 5: The patient is known to have other malignant tumors, which are progressing or need active treatment in the past 3 years (except for in situ cancer or localized prostate cancer supplemented by PSA test); 6: Received major surgery, open surgical biopsy or severe traumatic injury 28 days before joining the group; 7: Clinically related or preexisting interstitial lung disease; 8: Severe unhealed wound, ulcer or fracture; 9: Suffering from autoimmune diseases requiring systemic treatment in the past 2 years; 10: Unstable systemic concomitant diseases (active infection, moderate and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, poorly controlled hypertension, unstable angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, pulmonary embolism or untreated history of Grade 3 deep vein thrombosis (DVT) within 6 months, serious mental disorder requiring drug control, liver, kidney or other metabolic diseases, neuropsychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer's disease); 11: According to the judgment of the researcher, there are patients with accompanying diseases that seriously endanger the safety of patients or affect the completion of the study

Where in China

  • Tianjin First Central HospitalTianjin, ChinaContact: WangTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

This research study is designed for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) who have already received four cycles of standard chemotherapy, with at least two cycles combined with immunotherapy, and have achieved disease control (stable disease, partial response, or complete response) at their last efficacy evaluation.

Read full original descriptionShow less

In this study, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:

Group A will receive standard immunotherapy plus 1 to 3 courses of allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapy. Each course consists of six NK cell infusions given over 28 days.

Group B will receive standard immunotherapy alone. All participants will continue treatment until their disease progresses or they experience unacceptable side effects. The immunotherapy agents used in this study are those recommended by major international and national clinical guidelines for extensive-stage SCLC, including but not limited to durvalumab, atezolizumab, serplulimab, and adebrelimab.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether adding NK cell therapy to standard immunotherapy can provide additional benefits for patients with extensive-stage SCLC who have responded well to initial treatment.

The 2 groups in the trial

  • ICI + Allogeneic NK CellsTreatment being tested

    Treatment: Allogeneic Natural Killer Cells and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor

  • ICI AloneExisting treatment, for comparison

    Treatment: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
A Randomized, Controlled, Open and Exploratory Clinical Trial of Immunization Combined With Allogeneic NK Cells in the Immune Maintenance Stage After First-line Treatment of Extensive Small Cell Lung Cancer
Plain-language title
Donor NK cells added to immunotherapy for small cell lung cancer after first treatmentGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Record updated
12 August 2026