Active clinical trials for "Anemia"

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Zosuquidar trihydrochloride, a modulator of multidrug resistance (MDR), may help daunorubicin and cytarabine kill more cancer cells by making cancer cells more sensitive to the drugs. It is not yet known whether daunorubicin and cytarabine are more effective with or without zosuquidar trihydrochloride in treating acute myeloid leukemia or anemia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying how well giving zosuquidar trihydrochloride together with daunorubicin and cytarabine works compared to daunorubicin and cytarabine alone in treating older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia or anemia that has not responded to previous treatment.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of lenalidomide in treating young patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors or myelodysplastic syndromes. Lenalidomide may stop the growth of solid tumors or myelodysplastic syndromes by blocking blood flow to the cancer. It may also stimulate the immune system in different ways and stop cancer cells from growing.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of darbepoetin alfa versus placebo in reducing the occurrences of red blood cell transfusions in subjects with anemia of cancer who are not receiving chemotherapy.

Patients with sickle cell disease have abnormal hemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the body). This abnormality causes red blood cells to take on a sickle shape, producing disease symptoms. Fetal hemoglobin, a type of hemoglobin present in fetuses and babies, can prevent red cells from sickling. The drug hydroxyurea increases fetal hemoglobin production in patients with sickle cell disease by making a molecule called nitric oxide. The drugs L-arginine and Sildenafil (Viagra) increase the amount or the effect of nitric oxide. This study will evaluate: The safety of giving L-arginine or Sildenafil together with hydroxyurea in patients with sickle cell disease; The effectiveness of L-arginine plus hydroxyurea or Sildenafil plus hydroxyurea in increasing fetal hemoglobin in patients with sickle cell disease; and The effectiveness of L-arginine plus hydroxyurea or Sildenafil and hydroxyurea in lowering blood pressure in the lungs of patients with sickle cell disease. (Pulmonary blood pressure is elevated in about one-third of patients with sickle cell disease, and this condition increases the risk of dying from the disease.) Patients with hemoglobin S-only, S-beta-thalassemia, or other sickle cell disease genotype may be eligible for this study. Before starting treatment, patients will have a complete medical history and physical examination. All patients will take hydroxyurea once a day every day by mouth for at least 2 months. They will be admitted to the NIH Clinical Center to take their first dose of hydroxyurea, and will have blood drawn through a catheter (plastic tube placed in a vein) every hour for 6 hours for tests to determine nitric oxide levels. After discharge, they will return to the clinic once every 2 weeks to check for treatment side effects and for blood tests to monitor hemoglobin and fetal hemoglobin levels. After fetal hemoglobin levels have been stable for 2 months, patients will be admitted to the Clinical Center for their first dose of L-arginine (for men) or Sildenafil (for women). Again, blood samples will be collected through a catheter once an hour for 6 hours. If there are no complications, patients will be discharged and will continue taking hydroxyurea once a day and L-arginine or Sildenafil three times a day for at least 3 months until fetal hemoglobin levels have been stable for at least 2 months. Patients will return to the clinic for blood tests every week for 2 weeks and then every 2 weeks to monitor hemoglobin and fetal hemoglobin levels and to check for treatment side effects. Patients will have eye examinations before and during treatment. Some patients with sickle cell disease develop abnormalities in the blood vessels of the eye. Also, Sildenafil can cause temporary changes in color vision. Rarely, more serious eye problems can occur, such as bleeding from the eye blood vessels or damage to the retina a layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye. Patients will also have an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) before beginning treatment, after hydroxyurea treatment, and after 1 and 3 months of combined treatment with hydroxyurea and L-arginine or Sildenafil to help measure blood pressure in the lungs. Patients who develop complications from L-arginine or Sildenafil may continue in the study on hydroxyurea alone. Patients whose fetal hemoglobin levels increase with the combination therapy of hydroxyurea and L-arginine or Sildenafil may continue to take them.

This phase I trial studies the side effects and best dose of iodine I 131 monoclonal antibody BC8 when given together with fludarabine phosphate and low-dose total-body irradiation followed by donor stem cell transplant and immunosuppression therapy in treating older patients with acute myeloid leukemia or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes that cannot be controlled with treatment. Radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies, such as iodine I 131 monoclonal antibody BC8, can find cancer cells and carry cancer-killing substances to them. Giving chemotherapy, such as fludarabine phosphate, and total-body irradiation before a donor peripheral blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer or abnormal cells. It may also 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. The donated stem cells may also replace the patient's immune cells and help destroy any remaining cancer cells. Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can also make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving radiolabeled monoclonal antibody therapy together with fludarabine phosphate and total-body irradiation before the transplant together with cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening.

Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Colony-stimulating factors such as sargramostim may increase the number of immune cells found in bone marrow or peripheral blood and may help a person's immune system recover from the side effects of chemotherapy. Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of bryostatin 1 combined with sargramostim in treating patients who have refractory myeloid cancer

The purpose of this trial is to assess the effectiveness of Aranesp® administered at 300 mcg every 3 weeks (q3w) in achieving therapeutic objectives of anemia treatment (achieving and maintaining hemoglobin levels consistent with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Aranesp® administered subcutaneously (SC) to maintain hemoglobin (Hb) levels in renal transplant recipients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of treatment with darbepoetin alfa on peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) in subjects with symptomatic CHF and anemia.

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety of darbepoetin alfa beyond 16 weeks of treatment in subjects with anemia of cancer who are not receiving chemotherapy.