Active clinical trials for "Graft vs Host Disease"

This study is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Prochymal® (Ex-vivo Cultured Adult Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells) in participants experiencing treatment-refractory acute GVHD, Grades III-IV, that is refractory to standard first-line therapies and at least one second-line therapy.

This phase II trial studies how well cyclophosphamide works in preventing chronic graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplant in patients with hematological malignancies. Giving chemotherapy and total-body irradiation before transplantation helps stop the growth of cancer cells and prevents the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. Healthy stem cells from a donor that are infused into the patient help the patient's bone marrow make blood cells; red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Sometimes, however, the transplanted donor cells can cause an immune response against the body's normal cells, which is called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Giving cyclophosphamide after transplant may prevent this from happening or may make chronic GVHD less severe.

This is a multicenter trial through the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium. The Primary hypothesis of this study is that because of its effect as a potent immunosuppressive agent targeting lymphocytes, pentostatin will show a sustained response in pediatric subjects with severe chronic GVHD. Secondary hypotheses include that the infection and toxicity rate of pentostatin in this setting will be acceptable given its lack of severe myelosuppression, and subjects with refractory chronic GVHD will have significant QOL impairment and symptomatology. These may change as subjects are being treated for their chronic GVHD with pentostatin.

This is a clinical trial to see if the addition of etanercept to standard preventative medicines helps in preventing two major complications of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT): decrease the rate of acute graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) and the risk of death.

Twenty-four (2 x 12) patients with intestinal graft versus host disease (GVHD) Grades 2, 3 or 4 will be treated with budesonide 3mg three times daily or placebo for 12 weeks. All of the patients will receive cyclosporine and by mouth (po) prednisone or intravenous (IV) methylprednisone with a starting dose of 2mg/kg/day (standard anti-GVHD treatment). Doses of steroids will be decreased by approximately 10% or 10mg per week (depending upon patient's weight) upon response to therapy, defined as a decrease of volume of diarrhea by 50% per day, decrease in abdominal pain and no presence of bloody stool. Patients with Grades 3 or 4 will be withdrawn from the study if there is no response after one week of therapy. Patients with Grade 2 may continue with no decrease in prednisone dose until response is achieved.

The purpose of this study is to determine if rituximab is a safe and effective therapy for steroid-refractory chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD).

This phase II trial studies pentostatin and donor lymphocyte infusion in preventing graft rejection in patients who have undergone donor stem cell transplant. Giving pentostatin and an infusion of the donor's T cells (donor lymphocyte infusion) after a donor stem cell transplant may stop the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. The donated stem cells may replace the patient's immune cells 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 pentostatin before donor lymphocyte infusion may stop this from happening.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more cancer cells. Colony stimulating factors such as filgrastim 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. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of peripheral stem cell transplantation plus filgrastim in treating patients who have acute or chronic myelogenous leukemia.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more cancer cells. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy used to kill cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by donor peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have mantle cell lymphoma.

RATIONALE: Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy used to kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of treated donor stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have hematologic cancer.