Active clinical trials for "Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive"

The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if adding pegylated interferon-alfa 2a (Pegasys) to the TKI that you are already receiving can help to control CML. The safety of this treatment combination will also be studied. Pegasys is a form of the drug interferon. It is designed to help the body's immune system to fight infections. It may also affect the body's response to cancer. A TKI (imatinib mesylate, nilotinib, or dasatinib) is designed to bind to and shut off a protein in tumor cells called Bcr-Abl. Shutting Bcr-Abl off may prevent CML cells from growing, and may cause them to die. You are already receiving a TKI. This consent form will describe the administration of Pegasys, any tests and procedures that need to be performed while you are receiving Pegasys, and any risks/benefits there may be from receiving Pegasys.

In this research study, the investigators are looking to see whether the combination of arsenic trioxide with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor is safe, and what effects it has on chronic myelogenous leukemia.

The leukemic stem cells (LSCs) are cells that self- renew and give rise to leukemia. Eradication of LSC is required for cure. In chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) LSCs are not eradicated by imatinib (Gleevec) alone. Recent discovery by Dr. Shaoguang Li at University of Massachusetts indicates that the LSCs can be targeted by a new drug zileuton (Chen et al. Nature Genetics 2009; 41:783-792). Zileuton (approved for asthma) will be tested in a combination with Gleevec. This combination has not been used previously to treat leukemia. This is a Phase I study. The goal of this research is to evaluate the safety of the standard anti-cancer drug imatinib and experimental drug zileuton.

This phase II trial is studying how well rituximab works in preventing acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients undergoing a donor stem cell transplant for hematologic cancer. Giving chemotherapy and total-body irradiation before a donor stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It may also 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 a monoclonal antibody, rituximab, together with anti-thymocyte globulin, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil before and after the transplant may stop this from happening

Blood disorders such as leukemia or lymphoma or hemoglobinopathies can benefit from receiving an allogeneic (meaning that the cells are from a donor) stem cell transplant. Stem cells are created in the bone marrow. They grow into different types of blood cells that the body needs, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. In a transplant, the body's stem cells would be killed and then replaced by stem cells from the donor. Usually, patients are given very high doses of chemotherapy (drugs which kill cancer cells) prior to receiving a stem cell transplant. However, patients that are older, have received several prior treatments, or have other organ diseases are at a high risk of getting life-threatening treatment-related side effects from high doses of chemotherapy. Over the past several years, some doctors have begun to use lower doses of chemotherapy for preparing patients for a stem cell transplant. A condition that can occur after a stem cell transplant from a donor is Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). It is a rare but serious disorder that can strike persons whose immune system is suppressed and have received either a blood transfusion or a bone marrow transplant. Symptoms may include skin rash, intestinal problems similar to inflammation of the bowel and liver dysfunction. This research study uses a combination of lower-dose chemotherapy agents that is slightly different from those that have been used before. The medicines that will be used in this study are Fludarabine, Busulfan, both chemotherapy medicines, and Campath. Campath is a monoclonal antibody (a type of substance produced in the laboratory that binds to cancer cells). It helps the immune system see the cancer cell as something that needs to be destroyed. This research study will help us learn if using Fludarabine, Busulfan and Campath prior to an allogeneic stem cell transplant can provide treatment for blood disorders while decreasing the incidence of side effects.

The goal of this clinical research study is to find the highest tolerable dose of AT9283 that can be given to patients who have ALL, AML, CML, high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, or myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia. Researchers want to perform pharmacokinetic (PK) testing on blood to find out how quickly the study drug leaves the body and how the body breaks down the drug. The safety and effectiveness of this drug will also be studied.

This is a phase II multicenter, open-label study designed to investigate the feasibility (tolerance, compliance and safety) of a combination of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI 571 (GLIVEC, Novartis Pharma) with a pegylated *-Interferon 2b (PEG INTRON). The rationale for testing this combination is that 1) aIFN is curently the first line agent for the treatment of CML, 2) the pegylated formulation of aIFN is more convenient and is better tolerated than the conventional formulation, 3) STI571 is currently the most promising investigational agent for the treatment of CML because it is targeted to the molecular bases of the disease, is effective also in the advanced phases of the disease, and is effective also in the cases who are resistant to aIFN, 4) the mechanisms of action of the two agents are different. Therefore the combination of STI571 and PEGINTRON is likely to provide the best treatment of CML and to be tested very soon in randomized phase III studies of efficacy. So far STI571 and PEGINTRON have been investigated separately. The present study is an exploratory study that has been planned with the aim of evaluating the adverse events and the safety of the combination, so as to identify a safe and tolerable regime that can be tested prospectively for efficacy in a subsequent, randomized phase III study. Based on available knowledge and data, STI571 is more specific and can be more effective than PEGINTRON. Therefore in this exploratory study STI571 is given a priority over PEGINTRON as to dose and dose adaptation. Sixty subjects with chronic phase CML, previously untreated with any one of study drugs, will be enrolled over a 3 months period and will be treated and studied for 12 months. The patients can be pretreated with hydroxyurea , whenever required, hence are treated with STI 571 at a fixed dose (400mg) and with PEG-Intron at doses ranging from 50 to 150 *g weekly (the first cohort of 20 patients at 50 *g/w, the second cohort of 20 patients at 100 *g/w and the third cohort of 20 patients at 150 *g/w). The response (hematologic, cytogenetic and molecular) to the combination treatment will be evaluated every 3 months, and the pharmacokinetics of study drugs will be studied in a sample of study patients. The duration of the study is 12 months, for a total trial time of 15 months.

This phase II trial is studying how well aflibercept works in treating patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Aflibercept may be able to carry cancer-killing substances directly to myelodysplastic syndrome cells. It may also stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking blood flow to the cancer

In this study, the efficacy and safety of nilotinib 400 mg twice daily, will be compared with imatinib 400 mg twice daily in patients with a suboptimal response to imatinib for their Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP).

The purpose of this clinical research study is to compare the rate of complete cytogenetic response of dasatinib to imatinib therapy at 6 months after randomization in chronic phase CML patients. The safety of this treatment will also be studied.