we will conduct a single-arm phase I clinical study in 20 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at the stage of minimal residual disease (MRD) following standard chemotherapy, and these patients are not the subjects of stem cell transplantation. Adult patients between18 and 70 years old with AML who have entered morphological remission after induction, consolidation or intensive chemotherapy with molecular signature of increased WT1 molecule levels and pathological characteristics of bone marrow biopsy, together with fulfilling all other eligibility criteria, will be vaccinated with dendritic cells loaded with tri-antigens (WT1/TERT/survivin) in the absence of any additional therapeutic measurements. The primary aim of this innovative immunotherapy study is to determine whether the anti-leukemic effects seen in our preclinical study can be confirmed in patients and whether such DC vaccination can significantly prevent relapse and increase survival of AML patients by eradicating minimal residual disease. Patients will be recruited at 307 Hospital in Beijing. Recruitment will start in the second half of 2021 and will last for two years or until 20 safety and efficacy-evaluable AML patients are included. This is a single-arm trial. The patients who present MRD after complete chemotherapy will receive a conditioning regimen of cyclophosphamide, followed by six infusions of autologous or HLA-matched donor-derived DCs loaded with tri-antigens including WT1/TERT/survivin. The dendritic cell therapy product will be administered in the stem cell transplantation center at 307 Hospital headed by Dr. Liang-Ding Hu. After inclusion of 20 safety/feasibility-evaluable patients, relapse rate, relapse-free survival and overall survival analysis will be performed. Tumor marker levels and immune signature molecules will also be monitored at molecular and immunological levels, and general and disease-specific quality of life will be evaluated using quality of life questionnaires at various time points.
The primary aim of this innovative immunotherapy using WT1/hTERT/Survivin-loaded DCs is to determine whether this novel DC vaccination is safe and can significantly prevent clinical relapse and increase survival of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients by eradicating minimal residual disease, while maintaining its safety profile in this phase I trial.