Active clinical trials for "Leukemia"

This study will test the safety and effectiveness of using lower-dose rituximab given more frequently for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Studies have shown that, used once a week for 4 weeks, rituximab was effective in up to 25 percent of patients with CLL. New evidence shows that using lower and more frequent doses of rituximab can be more effective in destroying leukemia cells and produce a better treatment response. Patients 21 years of age and older with CLL who have received treatment with fludarabine may be eligible for this study. Participants take rituximab for 12 weeks. One dose of the drug is infused through an arm vein over about 30 minutes on either day 1 (the first dose) or day 3 (the second dose). All other doses are given as an injection under the skin. After the first week, patients can choose to do these injections at home. Rituximab will be given 3 times a week for a total of 12 weeks. Other medications are given to reduce the side effects and allergic reactions to the drug. In addition to treatment, patients undergo the following tests and procedures: Before treatment Medical history, physical examination, electrocardiogram (EKG) and blood tests. Bone marrow and lymph node biopsies (surgical removal of a small tissue sample). Computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans. CT uses special x-rays to provide images of the neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis. PET uses a radioactive sugar to identify areas of disease. During treatment (study weeks 1-12) Medical history and physical examinations at weeks 3, 6 and 12 to evaluate drug side effects, plus weekly telephone checks and interim visits when needed. Blood tests every other week to evaluate blood counts. Evaluations after treatment (follow-up 3 months to 12 months) Blood tests at follow-up visits at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after treatment to evaluate blood counts. Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy at 3 months after treatment to examine the effects of rituximab on bone marrow cells. CT scans of the neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after treatment to evaluate the response to treatment.

RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide and fludarabine, and radiation therapy before a donor umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It also stops the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. The donated stem cells may replace the patient's immune system and help destroy any remaining cancer cells (graft-versus-tumor effect). Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can also make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well giving chemotherapy together with total-body irradiation followed by donor umbilical cord blood transplant, cyclosporine, and mycophenolate mofetil works in treating patients with hematologic cancer.

Subjects are being asked to participate in this study because treatment of their disease requires them to receive a stem cell transplant. Stem cells or "mother" cells are the source of normal blood cells and lead to recovery of blood counts after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Unfortunately, there is not a perfectly matched stem cell donor (like a sister or brother) and the subject's disease is considered rapidly progressive and does not permit enough time to identify another donor (like someone from a registry list that is not their relative). We have, however, identified a close relative of the subject's whose stem cells are not a perfect match, but can be used. However, with this type of donor, there is typically an increased risk of developing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a high rate of transplant failure, and a longer delay in the recovery of the immune system. GVHD is a serious and sometimes fatal side effect of stem cell transplant. GVHD occurs when the new donor cells (graft) recognizes that the body tissues of the patient (host) are different from those of the donor. When this happens, cells in the graft may attack the host organs, primarily the skin, liver, and intestines. The number of occurrences and harshness of severe GVHD depends on several factors, including the degree of genetic differences between the donor and recipient, the intensity of the pre-treatment conditioning regimen, the quantity of transplanted cells, and the recipient's age. In recipients of mismatched family member or matched unrelated donor stem cell transplants, there is a greater risk of GVHD so that 70-90% of recipients of unchanged marrow will develop severe GVHD which could include symptoms such as marked diarrhea, liver failure, or even death. In an effort to lower the occurrences and severity of graft-versus-host disease in patients and to lower the rate of transplant failure, we would like to specially treat the donor's blood cells to remove cells that are most likely to attack the patient's tissues. This will occur in combination with intense conditioning treatment that the patient will receive before the transplant.

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RATIONALE: Giving total-body irradiation and chemotherapy, such as thiotepa and fludarabine, before a donor stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer or abnormal cells. It also helps stop the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. When the healthy stem cells from a donor are infused into the patient they may help the patient's bone marrow make stem cells, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving methylprednisolone and antithymocyte globulin before transplant and peripheral blood cells that have been treated in the laboratory after transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of laboratory-treated peripheral blood cell infusion after donor stem cell transplant in treating patients with hematologic cancers or other diseases.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fludarabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Sometimes, the cancer may not need treatment until it progresses. In this case, observation may be sufficient. It is not yet known whether fludarabine is more effective than observation in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying fludarabine to see how well it works compared to observation only in treating patients with stage 0, stage I, or stage II B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

This study is for a population of patients with few or no alternative options that was conducted to determine the response rate to clofarabine. Additionally the study will provide information on the safety profile, impact of overall survival, and impact on remission duration with clofarabine. It is a single arm study and has no comparator.

This study is designed to test the combination of Plerixafor with G-CSF for chemosensitization in patients with relapsed or refractory AML.

This is a Phase I study that determines a tolerable combination of sorafenib, when given sequentially with cytarabine and clofarabine and determines the feasibility of administering this drug combination in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), infantile leukemia (both either AML and/or ALL). AML with prior myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms, and biphenotypic leukemia.

This Phase II, randomized, open-label, international, multicenter trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of rituximab monotherapy when given according to a dose intense regimen and to assess the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of ABT-263 when combined with dose-intense rituximab in previously untreated patients with B-cell CLL.