Active clinical trials for "Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma"

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of dasatinib in treating young patients with recurrent or refractory solid tumors or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia or chronic myelogenous leukemia that did not respond to imatinib mesylate. Dasatinib may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth

Subjects are being asked to participate in this study because treatment of their disease requires them to receive a stem cell transplant. Stem cells or "mother" cells are the source of normal blood cells and lead to recovery of blood counts after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Unfortunately, there is not a perfectly matched stem cell donor (like a sister or brother) and the subject's disease is considered rapidly progressive and does not permit enough time to identify another donor (like someone from a registry list that is not their relative). We have, however, identified a close relative of the subject's whose stem cells are not a perfect match, but can be used. However, with this type of donor, there is typically an increased risk of developing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a high rate of transplant failure, and a longer delay in the recovery of the immune system. GVHD is a serious and sometimes fatal side effect of stem cell transplant. GVHD occurs when the new donor cells (graft) recognizes that the body tissues of the patient (host) are different from those of the donor. When this happens, cells in the graft may attack the host organs, primarily the skin, liver, and intestines. The number of occurrences and harshness of severe GVHD depends on several factors, including the degree of genetic differences between the donor and recipient, the intensity of the pre-treatment conditioning regimen, the quantity of transplanted cells, and the recipient's age. In recipients of mismatched family member or matched unrelated donor stem cell transplants, there is a greater risk of GVHD so that 70-90% of recipients of unchanged marrow will develop severe GVHD which could include symptoms such as marked diarrhea, liver failure, or even death. In an effort to lower the occurrences and severity of graft-versus-host disease in patients and to lower the rate of transplant failure, we would like to specially treat the donor's blood cells to remove cells that are most likely to attack the patient's tissues. This will occur in combination with intense conditioning treatment that the patient will receive before the transplant.

% positive Ph LLA with RC alter the Glivec and induction chemotherapy treatment

Research studies have shown that children who are long-term survivors of childhood leukemia may be at greater risk for early bone loss called osteoporosis. This bone loss may lead to a greater risk of broken bones and other spine and bone problems. However, researchers still do not know much about how frequently this long-term side effect may occur and how severe the problem is. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researchers want to determine the frequency and severity of this side effect. They are also studying whether taking calcium and Vitamin D supplements can help children at risk for osteoporosis and if certain factors can be identified -- such as age at diagnosis, cancer treatments, or family history -- that may increase the chances of having osteoporosis. Researchers will take an x-ray study called quantitative computed tomography (QCT) to measure bone mineral density (BMD). The BMD is a measure of bone strength. If a subject's BMD falls below the average, he/she will be assigned to one of two groups. Subjects will be randomly assigned (like tossing a coin) to receive calcium and vitamin D pills. The other half will receive placebo pills that look like the calcium and vitamin D pills.

The study evaluates the efficacy and tolerability of a dose-reduced chemotherapy for the treatment of elderly patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In patients with expression of CD20 on leukemic cells the efficacy and tolerability of additional application of Rituximab together with chemotherapy is evaluated.

This study tests the effectivity and tolerability of treatment with alemtuzumab (MabCampath) in patients with relapsed or refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) or T-lymphoblastic lymphoma. In Arm A, patients with refractory relapse receive a 2 week treatment with MabCampath followed by remission evaluation. In case of insufficient response, treatment with cladribine is added. In Arm B, patients with molecular relapse (minimal residual disease) receive a 4 week treatment with MabCampath followed by remission evaluation. In both arms, treatment is continued in case of response for up to two months.

The study evaluates the efficacy and tolerability of an intensified induction and consolidation therapy. Thereafter patients receive individualised treatment stratified according to relapse risk with stem cell transplantation for patients with high and very high risk of relapse. Patients with standard risk receive further consolidation and reinduction chemotherapy. In parallel minimal residual disease (MRD) is evaluated. A MRD based risk stratification and treatment decision is developed.

This study is for patients with recently diagnosed blood cancer, called acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The standard treatment for this disease consists of many chemotherapy drugs that are given in different combinations in several steps. Each step of treatment is called a cycle. Patients will be treated with the chemotherapy drugs that are routinely used in ALL and which are given in multiple treatment cycles over several months. All the chemotherapy drugs that are used in this study have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One of the drugs, which is typically given to patients with ALL, is called Asparaginase. It is given together with the other drugs throughout the different cycles of treatment. This drug can be derived from several sources. The standard source is called E. coli Asparaginase, which is associated with a risk of allergic reactions. This drug stays in the body for a very short period of time; therefore, it has to be injected daily for 9-14 days in a cycle of treatment. In this study, a different form of Asparaginase will be used, called PEG-Asparaginase (also called Oncospar), which remains in the body for about two weeks, therefore, it can be given only once in a cycle of treatment and still maintains high blood levels of the drug. PEG-Asparaginase has recently been approved by the FDA to treat ALL. Most of the experience with the drug has been in children with ALL. In children it was found to be as safe as the standard form of Asparaginase and with less allergic reaction. It was also found to have the same effectiveness on ALL. The experience with this drug in adults has been more limited. The purpose of the study is to find out what side effects occur in adults when PEG-Asparaginase is given with other chemotherapy drugs and to see what effect it has on the response to treatment of ALL. Another purpose is to find out if the allergic reactions are reduced with PEG-Asparaginase. In children there is some early information that PEG-Asparaginase produces fewer antibodies than E.coli Asparaginase. Therefore, another purpose of the study is to see how many adult patients who receive PEG-Asparaginase develop antibodies against the drug.

Patients receiving allogeneic stem cell transplantation for hematological malignancies who suffer a relapse of their disease post-transplant have limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. With the exception of patients with chronic leukemias who may achieve prolonged remissions after donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs), treatments using either chemotherapy or a DLI achieve less than a 10% median survival beyond 6 months. Most of these patients die of progressive leukemia, underlying the need for new therapeutic approaches. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched DLIs appear to possess a more potent graft-versus-leukemia (GvL) effect. However, when given after an HLA-mismatched transplant DLIs have a high risk of causing graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), which can be severe. To reduce the risk of GvHD, infusions of mismatched lymphocytes from an alternative donor may be used to avoid permanent engraftment and associated risk of GvHD. In this study, we propose to use a novel strategy to treat leukemias relapsing after HLA matched allogeneic stem cell transplantation by using haplo-identical DLIs to promote the associated antileukemic effect while minimizing the possibility of permanent engraftment and associated GvHD. To achieve only temporary engraftment and to promote disease control we will give fludarabine immunosuppression prior to the DLI. We anticipate the infusion of HLA-mismatched donor lymphocytes in this setting will produce no detectible engraftment or only temporary engraftment, but may result in a strong GvL effect regardless of engraftment outcome. We will select patients for this protocol who fall into the worst category for post-transplant relapse. Specifically, we will enroll patients with acute leukemia or MDS relapsing within 6 months of transplant, of which less than 5% survive beyond a year from relapse.

This study will investigate if nilotinib provides an improved safety and efficacy profile over that seen in patients receiving Imatinib.