Active clinical trials for "Graft vs Host Disease"

Acute Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) is a serious medical condition that is a common development after Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). Acute GVHD happens when the donor cells attack and damage your tissues and organs after transplant. Acute GVHD often causes: Skin rashes, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea (may have blood), liver damage that can cause inflammation in the liver or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), damage to other organs Steroids are the first line of treatment for acute GVHD. About a quarter of the patients that develop acute GVHD may not respond to steroid and have steroid refractory GVHD (SR-aGVHD). Patients with SR-aGVHD may need other medications. SR-aGVHD, is a potentially life threatening condition. There is no standard treatment and it may not respond to treatment. The goals of this study are to find out if Infliximab and basiliximab can treat SR-aGVHD. Participants in this study will receive combination therapy (2 drugs: infliximab and basiliximab) once a week for four weeks.

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as alemtuzumab, can find cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Giving chemotherapy drugs, such as busulfan and cyclophosphamide, before a donor stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer 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 tacrolimus and methotrexate after the transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the best dose of alemtuzumab when given together with busulfan and cyclophosphamide followed by a donor stem cell transplant and to see how well it works in treating patients with hematologic cancer.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy and total-body irradiation before a donor umbilical cord blood transplant helps stop the growth of cancer and abnormal cells and 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 tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil before and after transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: To look at the ability of umbilical cord blood cells from one or two unrelated donors to serve as a source of stem cells for people needing a bone marrow transplant.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy drugs and total-body irradiation before a donor bone marrow transplant helps stop the growth of cancer and abnormal cells and 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. Giving colony-stimulating factors, such as G-CSF, to the donor helps the stem cells move from the bone marrow to the blood so they can be collected and stored. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well a G-CSF-treated donor bone marrow transplant works in treating patients with hematologic cancer or noncancer.

RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, 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 transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well giving fludarabine and cyclophosphamide together with total-body irradiation followed by cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil works in treating patients who are undergoing a donor umbilical cord blood transplant for hematologic cancer.

This study was designed to be conducted in 2 parts. The first part is a pilot study to test the effects of topical thalidomide gel 20mg applied to up to 3 oral ulcers in patients who have developed oral chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD)-related ulcerative stomatitis following allogeneic bone marrow/peripheral blood stem cell transplant (HSCT). Chronic GVHD may be related to increased levels of a cytokine called TNF-alpha (TNFa) following HSCT. Thalidomide's anti-inflammatory effects may lower TNFa levels, lead to healing of these oral ulcers, and decrease oral pain. If the pilot study is successful, the second part of the study will be done. This will test the effects of a 0.1% (20mg) thalidomide mouthwash in treating oral cGVHD-related stomatitis in patients following allogeneic HSCT. Applying thalidomide directly to the GVHD-related mouth ulcer in gel form or to the entire oral cavity in mouthwash form rather than taking it in pill form may reduce the amount of drug that enters the blood stream and cause less side effects. In the pilot study, participants will be randomly assigned to receive thalidomide gel 20mg or placebo (identical gel with no thalidomide) to use 4 times a day for 4 weeks. In the mouthwash study, participants will be randomly assigned to receive 0.1% 20mg thalidomide mouthwash or placebo (identical mouth rinse with no thalidomide) to use 4 times a day for 4 weeks. Participants will undergo the following procedures before beginning experimental treatment, then once a week for 4 weeks, and then approximately 8 weeks after the first visit: Interview about current medications and use of alcohol and cigarettes Self-report of mouth and throat pain Oral examination for stomatitis rating, and oral ulcer(s) measurement Quality of life questionnaire (repeated only at week 8 of the study) Mouth photography to measure and record the oral ulcer response to treatment Saliva sampling to look for proinflammatory cytokines (small proteins), including TNFa Oral ulcer exudate collected by filter paper to obtain fluid for measuring TNFa levels Gentle swabbing of oral ulcers to culture for virus, fungus, and bacteria that may be present Small punch biopsy of the area near the ulcer or affected area to check for presence of TNFa (repeated only at week 4 of the study) Blood sampling to monitor TNFa levels A urine pregnancy test for women who are able to have children (repeated at weeks 2, 4, and 8)

Phase II efficacy evaluation, phase I/II efficacy and toxicity trial of recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor for the treatment of steroid refractory gastrointestinal graft versus host disease.

RATIONALE: Bone marrow transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy used to kill tumor cells. Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Eliminating the T cells from the donor cells before transplanting them may prevent this from happening. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of T cell removal to prevent graft-versus-host disease in patients who are undergoing bone marrow transplantation from a donor.

The study's primary objective is designed to assess the safety and tolerability, and determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of both itacitinib and tocilizumab when given in combination to patients with steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (SR-aGVHD). The study's secondary objectives are to: Estimate the day 28 response rate (ORR) [complete response (CR), very good partial response (VGPR), and partial response (PR)] of the combination of itacitinib and tocilizumab for the treatment of SR-aGVHD Estimate the time to response and duration of response Estimate the incidence of primary disease relapse while on study treatment Estimate the incidence of infections including viral reactivation, bacterial infections and fungal infections while on study treatment Estimate the progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), non-relapse mortality, GVHD-related mortality of study subjects Estimate the proportion of patients who successfully discontinue steroids by 6 months and 12 months after therapy initiation

In this study we will combine mycophenolate mofetil and imatinib mesylate to treat steroid-refractory sclerotic/fibrotic type chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) to see the response rate and to find the safety of combination.