Clinical trial Recruiting at 1 site Early Phase 1 Interventional Ages 21 to 55

Using exercise to enhance immune cell therapy for blood cancer

Official title: Exercise-induced Adrenergic Receptor Signaling as an Immune Adjuvant for Allogeneic Cell Therapies

Run by University of Arizona · NCT06643221 · Data updated 2026-11-12

This study tests if a short cycling exercise can improve immune cells from healthy donors to help treat blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma more effectively.

Quick facts

PhaseEarly Phase 1
Study typeInterventional
Ages21 Years to 55 Years
SexAll
Enrollment200 (estimated)
SponsorUniversity of Arizona
Academic / other
Drugs / interventionsblinatumomab, CAR T, cart, chimeric antigen receptor, immunotherapy
Locations1 site (Tucson, Arizona)
StatusRecruiting
StartedJanuary 24, 2018
Main results expectedMay 31, 2031
Study endsMay 31, 2031
Registry record updatedJune 5, 2026
Trial IDNCT06643221 on ClinicalTrials.gov

Is this trial a fit for you?

Likely a good fit

Ideal candidates for this study are healthy individuals who are asymptomatic and have no more than one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Probably not a fit

Patients with significant cardiovascular risks or those who do not meet the health screening criteria may not benefit from this study.

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This study investigates the potential of exercise to improve the quality of immune cells collected from healthy donors for use in treating blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. Participants will engage in a 20-minute cycling exercise session to see if this can enhance the effectiveness of allogeneic adoptive cell therapies, which involve infusing donor immune cells into cancer patients. The trial aims to reduce side effects like graft-versus-host disease while improving treatment outcomes. It will involve healthy volunteers who meet specific cardiovascular health criteria to ensure safety during the exercise sessions.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lead to more effective and safer immune cell therapies for patients with blood cancers.

How similar studies have gone: While exercise has been shown to improve outcomes in cancer survivors, this specific approach to enhance immune cell therapy is novel and has not been extensively tested.

Who can join: the full rules

Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Procedures are in place for protecting against or minimizing the risks to the healthy volunteers recruited for this study. Physical risk to volunteers and matched related donors will be protected through health screening to determine study eligibility, and medical monitoring with an established test termination criterion during the exercise and isoproterenol infusion trials.

To protect against the remote risk of an adverse cardiac event occurring during exercise and isoproterenol infusion, the study will only enroll volunteers who are considered "low risk" for maximal stress testing in accordance with the guidelines published by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and American Heart Association (AHA). Individuals who are considered "low risk" are men and women who are asymptomatic and have no more than one risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The risks to subjects are therefore extremely low. All infusions will take place in the Clinical and Translational Sciences Research Center (CATS) Infusion Suite, which is a designated University of Arizona campus facility for infusion trials and equipped with appropriate medical personnel and monitoring equipment (i.e. ECG). The graded exercise tests and isoproterenol infusions procedures will be performed under the direction of a licensed and board-certified cardiologist

Inclusion Criteria:

Participants must:

* Be between 21 and 55 years of age.
* Be classified as 'low-risk' for graded exercise/stress testing according to ACSM-AHA criteria.
* Have no contraindications for the use of isoproterenol, carvedilol, bisoprolol, nadolol, or roflumilast as per FDA guidelines.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants will be excluded if they:

* Currently use tobacco products or have quit within the last 6 months.
* Have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 34 kg/m² or waist circumference exceeding 102 cm for men and 88 cm for women.
* Use any medications known to affect the immune system or regularly take ibuprofen/aspirin, antidepressants, or medications that alter blood pressure or cardiovascular function.
* Use of hormone replacement therapy.
* Are pregnant or breastfeeding.
* Have chronic or debilitating arthritis or have been bedridden in the past three months.
* Experienced a common illness (e.g., colds) within the past 6 weeks.
* Have central or peripheral nervous disorders, a history of stroke, or major affective disorder.
* Are infected with HIV or hepatitis or have any autoimmune disease.
* Have known cardiovascular disease or contraindications for the use of isoproterenol, carvedilol, bisoprolol, nadolol, or roflumilast.
* Use any prescription medications or have an allergy to beta-blockers.
* Have a resting heart rate of less than 50 beats per minute.
* Suffer from asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, kidney disease, pheochromocytoma, diabetes, overactive thyroid, or a history of severe anaphylactic reactions.
* Are scheduled for surgery.

Additionally, participants who meet the inclusion criteria but present with more than one of the following cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors will be excluded unless cleared by a cardiologist:

* Family History: Myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, or sudden death before 55 years of age in a father or male first-degree relative, or before 65 years of age in a mother or female first-degree relative.
* Hypertension: Systolic blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 mmHg.
* Dyslipidemia: Total serum cholesterol exceeding 200 mg/dl.
* Pre-diabetes: Fasting blood glucose levels between 100 mg/dl and 126 mg/dl.

Where it's running

  • The University of Arizona
    Tucson, Arizona, United States
    Recruiting

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How to take part

  1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
  2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
  3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.