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NCT Number: NCT07561437

NK521 in the Treatment of Malignant Ascites Associated With Advanced Solid Tumors

Study Population: Adult subjects aged 18-75 years with relapsed/refractory advanced solid tumors (including liver, gastric, colorectal, ovarian cancer, etc.) and malignant ascites confirmed by cytology, who have failed at least 2 lines of standard systemic therapy.

Study Design: This is a dose-escalation, single-center, open-label, prospective Phase 1 study. A total of 18 subjects will be enrolled and assigned to 2 administration groups (9 subjects each):

Group A (Intravenous infusion): For subjects with small-volume malignant ascites.

Group B (Intraperitoneal perfusion): For subjects with large-volume symptomatic malignant ascites.

Each group will follow a conventional "3+3" dose-escalation design with 3 dose levels (1×10⁹, 3×10⁹, 6×10⁹ NK cells per dose), administered once weekly, 3 weeks per cycle, for 2 consecutive cycles.

Primary Objectives: To evaluate the safety and tolerability, and to determine the dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of NK521 administered intravenously and intraperitoneally.

Secondary Objectives: To assess the preliminary anti-tumor efficacy including objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), duration of response (DOR), puncture-free survival (PuFS), and changes in tumor markers, as well as health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

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Key information

Age range

18 year–75 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Early Phase 1

Primary location

Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 010, China

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Pathologically diagnosed with relapsed/refractory advanced solid tumors, including but not limited to liver cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, etc.
  • Complicated with malignant ascites with identifiable tumor cells in ascites. Patients with advanced solid tumors who have failed at least 2 lines of standard therapy.
  • At least one measurable lesion on CT or MRI per RECIST v1.1.
  • ECOG performance status 0-2.
  • Life expectancy ≥3 months.
  • All toxicities from prior antineoplastic therapy have resolved to Grade 1 (CTCAE v5.0) or baseline except alopecia and fatigue; subjects with long-term stable sequelae from prior therapy (e.g., platinum-induced neuropathy) are allowed.
  • Women of childbearing potential must be non-lactating with a negative serum pregnancy test within 1 week before enrollment; all subjects must agree to use contraception from signing informed consent until 6 months after the last NK521 infusion.
  • Able to comply with the study protocol and follow-up procedures.
  • Voluntarily signed and provided written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Symptomatic central nervous system (CNS) metastasis and/or carcinomatous meningitis.
  • History of other malignancies within the past 3 years.
  • Active, known or suspected autoimmune disease, excluding hypothyroidism requiring only hormone replacement therapy, skin diseases not requiring systemic therapy (e.g., vitiligo, psoriasis, alopecia), or diseases not expected to relapse without external triggers.
  • History of immunodeficiency, including positive HIV test, other acquired or congenital immunodeficiency diseases, or organ transplantation.
  • History of severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, including but not limited to: severe cardiac arrhythmia or conduction abnormality requiring clinical intervention (e.g., ventricular arrhythmia, third-degree atrioventricular block); QTc interval >480 ms on 12-lead ECG at rest; acute coronary syndrome, congestive heart failure, aortic dissection, stroke, or other Grade ≥3 cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events within 6 months before enrollment; NYHA Class ≥II heart failure or left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <50%; uncontrolled hypertension.
  • Received radical radiotherapy within 4 weeks before enrollment; received local palliative radiotherapy within 2 weeks before enrollment.

Not fully recovered from major surgery or trauma within 2 weeks before enrollment.

-Participated in another investigational drug trial and received investigational therapy or used an investigational device within 4 weeks before enrollment.

Received cellular antineoplastic therapy within 1 year before dosing; received other antineoplastic therapy outside this protocol within 4 weeks before dosing, including but not limited to chemotherapy, molecular targeted therapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, biotherapy, or Chinese herbal patent medicine with antineoplastic indications.

  • Received blood transfusion, erythropoietin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor therapy within 2 weeks before enrollment.
  • Received systemic therapy with corticosteroids (prednisone >10 mg/day or equivalent) or other immunomodulatory agents (e.g., thymosin, interleukin-2, interferon) within 2 weeks before enrollment. Inhaled or topical corticosteroids are allowed in subjects without active autoimmune disease.
  • Positive virology test for hepatitis B or hepatitis C at screening, meeting any of the following:
  • HBsAg positive with positive HBV-DNA titer or above upper limit of normal (ULN);
  • HCV antibody positive.
  • Known hypersensitivity or intolerance to PD-1 monoclonal antibody.

Meeting any of the following laboratory criteria:

  • Hematology: Absolute neutrophil count <1.5×10⁹/L; platelet count <75×10⁹/L; hemoglobin <90 g/L.
  • Hepatic function: ALT >3×ULN (≥5×ULN for liver metastasis); AST >3×ULN (≥5×ULN for liver metastasis); TBIL >1.5×ULN, or TBIL >2.5×ULN (3.0 mg/dL) for subjects with Gilbert syndrome.
  • Renal function: Serum creatinine >1.5×ULN or creatinine clearance <50 mL/min.
  • Any uncertain factors affecting subject safety or compliance.
  • Any other severe or uncontrolled medical disease, active infection, abnormal physical examination, abnormal laboratory test, altered mental status, or psychiatric disease that, in the investigator's opinion, increases subject risk or affects study results.

Treatment and study plan

NK521 Cell Injection

Biological

Gene-edited natural killer (NK) cell product with knockout of TIGIT, NKG2A, and TGF-β, administered via intravenous infusion or intraperitoneal perfusion for the treatment of malignant ascites associated with advanced solid tumors.

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events and dose-limiting toxicities [Safety and Tolerability]

    Time frame: Treatment-emergent adverse events are recorded from the first administration until the final follow-up visit, up to 24 months, and dose-limiting toxicities are monitored within the 28-day period after the last administration.

    The incidence and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events, the occurrence of dose-limiting toxicities, and clinically significant laboratory abnormalities, to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the study treatment.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Objective Response Rate (ORR)

    Time frame: From the first administration, assessed every 6 weeks until disease progression or death, whichever comes first, up to 24 months.

    The proportion of subjects achieving complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) as assessed by the investigator using RECIST v1.1 criteria.

  2. Progression-Free Survival (PFS)

    Time frame: From the first administration, assessed every 6 weeks until progression or death, up to 24 months.

    Time from first administration to documented disease progression (per RECIST v1.1) or death from any cause, whichever occurs first.

  3. Overall Survival (OS)

    Time frame: From the first administration, followed up every 3-6 months until death or study closure, up to 24 months.

    Time from first administration to death from any cause.

  4. Malignant Ascites Control Rate

    Time frame: From the first intraperitoneal administration, assessed every 3 weeks until the end of treatment, up to 24 months.

    The proportion of subjects with reduction in ascites volume (≥50%) and decreased need for paracentesis, assessed using clinical and imaging criteria.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Base Therapeutics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Industry

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2028
First posted
May 1, 2026
Registry last updated
May 1, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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