Immunotherapy using CAR T-cells to target EGFRvIII for relapsed/refractory adult Glioblastoma

A single infusion of genetically engineered immune cells is being tested in a phase 1 trial for adults whose glioblastoma has returned after standard treatment. Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer, and once it relapses, few treatment options remain. This trial, called CARGO, takes the patient’s own T-cells—a type of immune cell—and re-engineers them in the lab to recognise a protein called EGFRvIII, which is found on the surface of glioblastoma cells but not on most healthy tissue. The modified cells, called CARGO-T cells, are then infused back into the patient, where they are designed to seek out and destroy the tumour. The trial’s primary goal is to establish whether these cells can be manufactured reliably and given safely. It also asks whether proton beam radiotherapy can keep the tumour in check during the weeks it takes to produce the cells. If the approach proves safe and shows signs of activity, it could open a new treatment pathway for a disease that currently has no curative options after relapse. The trial is small and early-stage—it is testing safety and dosing, not yet efficacy—but it addresses a clear unmet need in a cancer where survival beyond relapse is measured in months.