Active clinical trials for "Leukemia"

RATIONALE: A bone marrow transplant from a brother or sister may be able to replace blood-forming cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Colony-stimulating factors, such as G-CSF, cause the body to make blood cells. Giving G-CSF to the donor may help the body make more stem cells that can be collected for bone marrow transplant and may cause fewer side effects in the patient after the transplant. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of donor bone marrow transplant and to see how well it works in treating young patients with cancer or a non-cancerous disease.

RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as fludarabine, and radiation therapy before a donor 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 transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects and best dose of fludarabine, total-body irradiation, and donor stem cell transplant followed by cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil and to see how well they work in treating patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fludarabine, work in different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies, such as alemtuzumab and rituximab, can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining chemotherapy with monoclonal antibody therapy may kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known whether fludarabine is more effective when combined with alemtuzumab or with rituximab in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia. PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to compare the effectiveness of combining fludarabine with either alemtuzumab or rituximab in treating patients who have refractory or relapsed B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

This is the first study of the drug CT53518 when given to humans. The purpose of this study is to determine the highest dose of CT53518 that can safely be given to patients with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and to identify the side effects associated with taking the drug. The study will evaluate how CT53518 is absorbed, broken down, and eliminated by the body. Additionally, the study will evaluate the effects of the drug on a specific type of cell in bone marrow and blood, known as a blast.

RATIONALE: Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy. Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor are rejected by the body's normal cells. Ultraviolet-B light therapy given before and after allogeneic stem cell transplantation may help prevent this from happening. PURPOSE: Clinical trial to study the effectiveness of combining ultraviolet-B light therapy with allogeneic stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have hematologic malignancies.

The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if combining cord blood units to make the cells "take" faster in recipients will help to improve the results of cord blood transplants.

RATIONALE: Imatinib mesylate may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for cancer cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy such as flavopiridol use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining imatinib mesylate with flavopiridol may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of flavopiridol and imatinib mesylate in treating patients with hematologic cancer.

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cord blood transplantation for adult patients with hematologic malignancies including refractory acute leukemia. The transplant procedure was determined in detail according to the previously published report showing a high survival, so that the investigators could expect a similar result.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as melphalan, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. An autologous stem cell transplant using the patient's stem cells may be able to replace blood-forming cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy. Giving white blood cells from a donor may help the patient's body destroy any remaining cancer cells. Interleukin-2 may stimulate the white blood cells to kill cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of donor white blood cell infusions and interleukin-2 and to see how well they work in treating patients who are undergoing an autologous stem cell transplant for relapsed advanced lymphoid cancer.

RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and busulfan, before a donor peripheral 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). Giving an infusion of the donor's T cells (donor lymphocyte infusion) after the transplant may help increase this 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 phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of giving busulfan and fludarabine together with total-body irradiation and to see how well they work in treating patients who are undergoing a donor stem cell transplant for hematologic cancer.