Active clinical trials for "Graft vs Host Disease"

Background: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is commonly affected by acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) in patients who have undergone blood or marrow stem cell transplantation (BMT). Initially, patients are treated with systemic corticosteroids, which produce complete response rates in 35 percent. Although short courses of steroids are preferred to minimize adverse effects, many patients require systemic treatment chronically since GI GVHD can negatively impact quality of life and nutrition status. One option to minimize systemic steroid exposure is by nonabsorbable corticosteroids that act locally on the GI tract. Budesonide (Entocort EC, AstraZeneca, Wilmington, DE) is an FDA-approved oral topical corticosteroid for the treatment of mild to moderate active Crohn s disease involving the ileum and/or the ascending colon, and for maintenance of clinical remission of mild to moderate Crohn s disease involving the ileum and/or the ascending colon for up to 3 months. It has a high ratio of topical-to-systemic activity with minimally active metabolites, and undergoes extensive first-pass metabolism. Since both intestinal GVHD and Crohn s disease seem to share a similar pathogenic background, budesonide has been used in the BMT setting for GI GVHD, usually in combination with systemic corticosteroids (e.g. methylprednisolone) to improve clinical response and allow for more rapid tapering of systemic corticosteroid doses. First-pass metabolism is mediated mostly by the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzyme system. The liver is the major site of CYP450-mediated metabolism but the enterocytes of the intestinal epithelium are also an important site for drug metabolism. Budesonide undergoes significant metabolism by CYP enzymes with substantial first-pass metabolism. The potential for greater systemic availability of orally administered budesonide exists when it is given concurrently with triazole antifungals, which are commonly prescribed for prophylaxis or treatment of fungal infections after transplantation. Fluconazole and voriconazole are moderate and strong inhibitors of CYP3A4, respectively, and budesonide is a CYP3A4 substrate. Inhibition of CYP3A4 may impair the metabolism of budesonide, resulting in systemic concentrations of budesonide and subsequently, adverse effects such as hyperglycemia. If the presence of fluconazole or voriconazole does impair budesonide s metabolism, then dose adjustments to budesonide may be warranted. There are no prospective studies evaluating the effects of fluconazole or voriconazole on budesonide s pharmacokinetics in patients who have undergone BMT. The primary objective of the proposed study is to determine the effects of fluconazole and voriconazole on the trough (Cmin) and peak (Cmax) of budesonide in patients who have undergone BMT and who have GI GVHD. The primary endpoints are the Cmin and Cmax of budesonide. Secondary endpoints include the Cmin of voriconazole. Objectives: The proposed study seeks to determine the effects of fluconazole and voriconazole on the Cminand Cmax of budesonide. Eligibility: Adult and pediatric subjects (greater than or equal to 13 years of age and greater than or equal to 49 kg) who are registered to an NCI or NHLBI protocol who have undergone a bone marrow, cord, haplo-cord or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation who have GI GVHD as determined by the medical team and who require treatment with budesonide and are candidates for antifungal therapy are eligible for this study. Design: Each subject will serve as his or her own control to minimize the variation in absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination of oral budesonide that can occur from subject to subject, due to genetic, anatomic or other unidentified differences. For example, genetic polymorphisms of CYP2C19, which is significantly involved in voriconazole s metabolism, could otherwise affect the results of the study (i.e. CYP2C19 poor metabolizers may experience higher voriconazole serum concentrations, which could results in greater CYP3A4 inhibition and higher budesonide exposure). In addition, the longitudinal cohort design of this study will be able to answer the research questions posed with fewer research subjects. Research subjects will be accrued into one of three cohorts depending on the antifungal prophylaxis (or lack thereof) the subject is receiving at study entry and the preference of the medical team for continued antifungal coverage after the initiation of budesonide and systemic corticosteroids. Subjects who are not currently receiving antifungal prophylaxis or who are on fluconazole at baseline are eligible for enrollment in Cohort 1. Subjects in Cohorts 2 and 3 are receiving voriconazole and fluconazole at study entry, respectively. In Cohort 1, if applicable, subjects will stop fluconazole on day -1...

The main goal of the study is to determine if bone marrow transplant (BMT) from a less specific pool of donors in combination with high dose cyclophosphamide can induce remission of refractory systemic lupus erythematosus.

This study will assess the safety and tolerability of milatuzumab (IMMU-115) when added to a standard regimen to prevent Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD) in patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing stem cell transplant.

This trial designed to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of tocilizumab in the treatment of steroid refractory acute graft versus host disease (GVHD).

The aim of the study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stromal cells as treatment for steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease.

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of the combination of rituximab and prednisone as initial therapy for chronic graft-versus-host disease (C-GVHD).

A continuation study of sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis for patients undergoing matched related allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for acute and chronic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), high risk non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), or Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)

The objective of this study is to evaluate feasibility, toxicity and efficacy of using Rapamycin to prevent chronic graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) during and after the tacrolimus taper in recipients of allogeneic stem cell transplant. Our hypothesis is that the T cells that can cause chronic GVHD are suppressed but not eliminated by calcineurin inhibitors. Therefore, when the calcineurin inhibitors are discontinued, the T cells may get activated and result in GVHD. Rapamycin on the other hand will allow anergy formation and thus when discontinued, T cells should not get activated. The schedule is designed to have therapeutic rapamycin levels as the tacrolimus is discontinued. Rapamycin will be continued as a single agent for additional 4 weeks and be tapered off in two weeks.

Primary Objective: To determine the response and toxicity rate at day 56 of two different dose levels of thymoglobulin (ATG) [anti-thymocyte globulin (rabbit)] as a treatment of steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD). Secondary Objectives: To evaluate the response rate at day 28. To evaluate the overall survival and non-relapse mortality at 6 months. To determine the toxicity profile of thymoglobulin when used for the treatment of steroid-refractory aGVHD in each of two dose schedules. To characterize the pharmacokinetic profile of thymoglobulin in each of two dose schedules. To analyze biomarkers of cellular drug effect by quantifying T-cell apoptosis in aims of finding the minimal effective dose. To determine immune-reconstitution after administration of thymoglobulin to patients with steroid-refractory aGVHD for each dose schedule.

RATIONALE: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is a treatment that can cure acute leukemia and myelodysplasia. After giving the patient chemotherapy and total body irradiation to stop the growth of cancer and remove the patient's diseased bone marrow, healthy stem cells from a donor are infused into the patient to replace the patient's bone marrow and make red and white blood cells and platelets. Unfortunately HSCT is often complicated by 'graft versus host disease' (GVHD) in which the transplanted cells from a donor can make an immune response against the body's normal cells and cause tissue damage and severe symptoms. Removing a subset of the donor T cells, called 'naive T cells', before transplant may reduce the frequency and intensity of GVHD. PURPOSE: This phase II trial will determine whether the removal of the naive T cells from donor cells can decrease the rate and severity of graft-vs-host disease while preserving specific immunity against infections in patients with acute leukemia or advanced myelodysplastic syndromes.