Cellular Immunotherapy Clinical Trials for Solid Tumors
Seattle Children’s doctors and researchers are leaders in developing new therapies that stimulate the immune system (immunotherapies) to treat children, teens and young adults with or solid tumors.
Many of these promising immunotherapies are T-cell therapy, some developed by Seattle Children’s Therapeutics. Read more about how T-cell immunotherapy works. We also develop and study other such as and .
What immunotherapy clinical trials are open for patients with solid tumors?
These clinical trials authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) study new treatments for children and adults with relapsed or refractory solid tumors who are not likely to survive with current treatments. For information, call 206-987-2106 or email us at [email protected].
The study team at Seattle Children’s can explain the factors that determine if a patient can take part in a study (inclusion criteria) or cannot take part (exclusion criteria).
- The IMPACT trial is a phase 1 trial for children, teens and young adults 1 to 26 years old with a relapsed or refractory solid tumor that expresses a protein called glypican-3 (GPC3). These tumor types include hepatoblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, yolk sac tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma and rhabdoid tumor. The patient’s T cells are reprogrammed to recognize and target GPC3. The T cells are also reprogrammed with proteins (IL15 and IL21) that help CAR T cells grow and work better. Read more about the IMPACT study at clinicaltrials.gov.
- The FIERCe trial is a phase 1 trial for children and adults ages 1 to 75 years old who have relapsed or refractory , a type of bone cancer. In this study, the patient’s T cells are reprogrammed to recognize and target a protein that can be expressed by osteosarcoma, called folate receptor alpha or FOLR1. Read more about FIERCe at ClinicalTrials.gov.
- The SPEARHEAD-3 trial is a phase 1/2 trial for children ages 2 to 21 who have relapsed or refractory solid tumors: synovial sarcoma (ages 2-17), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), neuroblastoma or osteosarcoma. In this study, the patient’s own T cells are reprogrammed to recognize and target a protein called MAGE-A4 that can be expressed by certain solid tumors. See more about the SPEARHEAD-3 study at ClinicalTrials.gov.
- The MCC 21704 trial is a phase 1/2 trial for children and young adults ages 2 to 40 who have relapsed or refractory solid tumors (osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma or non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma). In this study, reprogrammed natural killer (NK) cells from a healthy donor are given along with chemotherapy. Read about the MCC 2704 study at ClinicalTrials.gov.
- The STING trial (NANT 2021-01) is a phase 2 trial for children and young adults ages 1 to 31 who have relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma. In this study, reprogrammed natural killer (NK) cells from a healthy donor are given in combination with chemotherapy and other immunotherapy. Read the study protocol at ClinicalTrials.gov.
What are the goals of these clinical trials?
We offer phase 1 and phase 2 trials. Phase 1 trials focus on finding out how much of a therapy to give, how to give it, how often to give it and what side effects occur. Phase 2 trials look at whether a therapy is safe and whether it works in people who have a certain disease.
Doctors hope that when these new therapies are fully tested, they will:
- Work quickly, so treatment takes weeks, not years
- Have milder side effects than other treatments, like chemotherapy
Learn more about clinical trials at Seattle Children’s.
Are there immunotherapy clinical trials for other childhood diseases?
We offer many trials focused on using the immune system to better treat children, teens and young adults with diseases such as:
- Leukemia and lymphoma.
- Brain and central nervous system tumors.
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (REACT-01). Read about the first U.S. CAR T-cell clinical trial for children with lupus.
See many of Seattle Children’s open clinical trials:
- Search by diagnosis for many clinical trials available through Seattle Children’s and our partners on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Contact Us
For more information, call 206-987-2106 or send us an email at [email protected].
Learn More
- Learn more about our Bone Tumors and Soft-Tissue Tumors program.
- Read about our Immunotherapy Program.
- Learn about Seattle Children's Therapeutics.
Updated June 2026
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