Active clinical trials for "Leukemia"

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy, natural killer cells, aldesleukin, and total-body irradiation before a donor umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of abnormal cells and cancer cells. It also 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 cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, and methylprednisolone before and 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 donor umbilical cord blood natural killer cells, aldesleukin, and umbilical cord blood transplant works in treating patients with refractory hematologic cancer or other diseases.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, and total-body irradiation before a donor umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer or abnormal cells and prepares the patient's bone marrow for the 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. The donated stem cells may replace the patient's immune cells and help destroy any remaining cancer or abnormal cells (graft-versus-tumor effect). Giving an infusion of the donor's T-regulatory cells before the transplant may help increase this effect. Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of umbilical cord blood T-regulatory cell infusion followed by donor umbilical cord blood transplant in treating patients with high-risk leukemia or other hematologic diseases.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as methotrexate and fludarabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well methotrexate works as first-line therapy and fludarabine works as second-line therapy in treating patients with T-cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia.

RATIONALE: Studying samples of blood from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about changes that occur in cancer cells. It may also help doctors understand how cancer cells respond to treatment with choline magnesium trisalicylate. PURPOSE: This pilot clinical trial is studying gene expression in cancer cells during chemotherapy and the safety of choline magnesium trisalicylate in treating patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia.

The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that a pre-infusion preparative regimen of cyclophosphamide and fludarabine will improve the effectiveness of DLI in patients with blood cancers.

Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of decitabine in treating children with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia or acute lymphoblastic leukemia

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Sometimes the transplanted cells are rejected by the body's normal tissues. Cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, methotrexate, and tacrolimus may prevent this from happening. PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to compare the effectiveness of fludarabine plus total-body irradiation with that of combination chemotherapy followed by donor peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

This study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a combination of two antibodies, apolizumab and rituximab (Rituxan ), in treating B-cell lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Rituximab attaches to a molecule called CD20 on B-cell lymphomas and can cause significant shrinkage of these tumors in up to half of patients. However, it does not cure the lymphoma, which usually returns. Also, it is not as effective against leukemia. Apolizumab attaches to a protein called 1D10 on B-cell cancers and has also been able to shrink tumors in some patients. There is little experience apolizumab in patients with leukemia. This study will test whether the two antibodies together are more effective against these tumors than either one alone. Patients 18 years and older with B-cell lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia may be eligible for this study. Patients' leukemia or lymphoma cells must have both the CD20 and 1D10 antigen receptors and must have had at least one systemic treatment for their disease. Candidates are screened with a medical history and physical examination, blood and urine tests, electrocardiogram, x-rays and other imaging studies, and possibly a bone marrow aspirate (withdrawal of a small marrow sample through a needle inserted into the hip bone) and lumbar puncture (withdrawal of a small sample of cerebrospinal fluid-fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord-through a needle placed between the bones in the lower back). Participants receive infusions of rituximab and apolizumab once a week for 4 weeks. The first patients in the study receive lower doses of apolizumab with standard doses of rituximab. If the apolizumab is well tolerated, subsequent patients are given higher doses. Patients are also given dexamethasone or another similar steroid, diphenhydramine (Benadryl ), and acetominophen (Tylenol ) to reduce reactions to the antibodies. After 4 weeks of treatment, patients are followed frequently to examine the response to treatment and evaluate drug side effects. Patients whose tumors do not grow during the 4 weeks of therapy may be offered another course of treatment at a later time. Participants are followed periodically after treatment ends until their disease worsens or the study ends. ...

This phase II trial is to see if combining bevacizumab with idarubicin and cytarabine works better in treating patients who have blast phase chronic myelogenous leukemia. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block cancer growth in different ways. Some block the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. Others find cancer cells and help kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as idarubicin and cytarabine, work in different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining monoclonal antibody therapy with chemotherapy may be an effective treatment for blast phase chronic myelogenous leukemia

The purpose of this study is to determine if PEG-Intron is better tolerated and more efficacious than standard interferons (Roferon, Intron) in patients with Philadelphia-positive Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. These patients should have previously received standard interferon therapy and have been intolerant, resistant, or have relapsed disease.