Active clinical trials for "Graft vs Host Disease"

This research study is a Phase II clinical trial, which tests the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug Natalizumab in treating Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) in the Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract.

The immune system has offensive and defensive capacities. In bone marrow transplantation, offensive cells in the donor grafts may attack host's organs, leading to a complication known as Graft versus Host Disease (GVDH). At present, patients receive steroid treatment to combat this tricky situation. Nevertheless, some patients do not respond to this therapy. Recently, it has been shown that immune system cells having defensive capacities can help in preventing the occurrence of a GVDH. This study aims to evaluate if these protective cells together with a non-standard immunosuppressor can improve the clinical condition and suppress the activity of the offensive cells in the graft.

Background: Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) from bone marrow biopsies can be used to treat disorders that cause inflammation and immune system diseases. BMSC have been used to treat graft versus host disease (GVHD), a complication that can develop after stem cell transplants. BMSC have also been used to treat other post-transplant complications, like marrow failure or tissue injury. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed a procedure for collecting and preserving BMSC from volunteer donors. These donors have passed tests to ensure that their cells are healthy enough to be used for treatment. Researchers want to use the collected cells to treat people with GVHD, marrow failure, or tissue injury following stem cell transplants. Objectives: - To test the safety and effectiveness of NIH-collected BMSC to treat complications from stem cell transplants. Eligibility: Individuals between 18 and 75 years of age who have complications from stem cell transplants. Complications are acute GVHD, poor bone marrow function, or tissue or organ damage. Design: Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. They will also have imaging studies and blood tests. Participants will provide blood, skin, and bone marrow samples before the BMSC treatment. Additional samples, including tissue samples, will be collected after the start of treatment. Participants will have up to three BMSC infusions. There will be a week between each infusion. Participants will be monitored closely during each infusion. Any side effects will be treated. Treatment will be monitored with frequent blood tests and physical exams. After the end of the infusions, participants will have regular followup visits for up to 2 years.

Chronic Graft versus Host Disease (cGvHD) has been identified as the leading cause of late non-relapse mortality in Hemopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) survivors. Up to now a standard satisfactory treatment for these patients does not exist. cGVHD is an immune-mediated disease, resulting from a complex interaction between donor and recipient adaptive immunity, but its exact pathogenesis is still incompletely defined. The purpose of this study is to determine safety and efficacy of Nilotinib in a population with steroid-refractory/or steroid-dependent cGvHD with a phase I study. In phase II the MTD will be used to define the efficacy of Nilotinib in a cGvHD steroid- refractory or steroid dependent population, with the same characteristics of the previously Imatinib-treated population.

SIR-POSA is a phase II trial of peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation from a partially compatible family (Haplo) donor in patients with a blood tumor (myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute leukemia) treated for the prevention of primary fungal infections with posaconazole. The aim is evaluate the composite end-point graft-versus-host disease-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) in these patients and evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of posaconazole oral tablets as primary antifungal prophylaxis.

Steroid-refractory acute GVHD (srGVHD) is one of the causes of mortality after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, while steroid-refractory chronic GVHD significantly increases morbidity, aggravates quality of life and may also impact survival. Currently there is no standard treatment of srGVHD. One of the most promising agents is Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor ruxolitinib, which in the retrospective study demonstrated excellent response rate and survival of patients with either acute or chronic srGVHD. This study prospectively evaluates the efficacy of ruxolitinib in srGVHD patients.

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), is commonly used for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and chronic graft-versus-host disease. ECP (cGVHD) is an immune modulating treatment. White blood cells from the patient are standardized activated by a photosensitizer psoralen (8-MOP) and irradiated with visible ultraviolet light (UV-A). The purpose is to induce programmed cell death (apoptosis). Disadvantage of current treatment is that 8-MOP targets both diseased and normal cells with no selectivity. The purpose of this study is to improve the current ECP technology using aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and UV light. ECP will be carried out in conventional manner except that 8-MOP will be replaced with ALA. Systemic ALA / UV light is already approved and used in the detection and treatment of disease in humans. The primary objective is to assess its safety and tolerability after single and multiple treatment in patients with CTCL or cGvHD.

A Phase I study to establish the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety and efficacy profiles of Neihulizumab in patients with steroid-refractory or treatment refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (SR/TR-aGVHD)

This is a phase 1, non-randomized, single-arm, open label, single center clinical trial to determine the tolerability and safety of pirfenidone in patients with BOS associated with lung GVHD after hematopoietic cell transplant.

This study aims to evaluate the early chronic GvHD events (first line therapy), if the addition of arsenic trioxide to standard therapy with corticosteroids, with or without cyclosporine, will be effective in controlling chronic GvHD and to reduce the duration of corticosteroid therapy