Active clinical trials for "Leukemia, Lymphoid"

The reason for doing this study is to determine whether a new method of blood stem cell transplant (also known as bone marrow transplant) is able to treat acute lymphocytic leukemia. Blood stem cells are the "seed cells" necessary to make all blood cells. This new method of transplant uses a combination of low dose radiation and chemotherapy that may be less toxic and cause less harm than a conventional transplant. This lower dose transplant is called a "nonmyeloablative transplant". Researchers want to see if using less radiation and less chemotherapy combined with new immune suppressing drugs after the transplant will help a stem cell transplant to work. Researchers hope that this treatment will cure acute lymphocytic leukemia with fewer side effects. Researchers are hoping to see a mixture of recipient and donor blood cells after transplant. This mixture of donor and recipient blood cells is called "mixed chimerism". Researchers hope that donor cells will attack and eliminate the leukemia. This is called the "graft-versus-leukemia" effect. In addition, after the transplant, white blood cells from the donor may be given to enhance or "boost" the graft-versus-leukemia effect, and hopefully remove all remaining cancer cells. This study is being done because at the present time blood stem cell transplantation (or bone marrow transplantation) is the only known curative therapy for acute lymphocytic leukemia. Because of age or underlying health status acute lymphocytic leukemia patients have a higher likelihood of experiencing severe harm from a conventional blood stem cell transplant. Researchers are doing this study to see if this new nonmyeloablative method of low dose radiation and low dose chemotherapy given before transplant and immune suppressive drugs after transplant will help make the transplant safer and also cure acute lymphocytic 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. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of bryostatin 1 plus fludarabine in treating patients who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia or relapsed, indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

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. It is not yet known which regimen of chemotherapy is more effective for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is comparing four regimens of combination chemotherapy to see how well they work in treating children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage cancer cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow doctors to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of radiation therapy and chemotherapy plus peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have high-grade lymphoma or acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies such as alemtuzumab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Combining monoclonal antibody therapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and peripheral stem cell transplantation may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of alemtuzumab plus peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

This clinical trial studies fludarabine phosphate, low-dose total body irradiation, and donor stem cell transplant in treating patients with hematologic malignancies or kidney cancer. Giving chemotherapy drugs, such as fludarabine phosphate, and total-body irradiation before a donor peripheral blood 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). Giving an infusion of the donor's T cells (donor lymphocyte infusion) after the transplant may help increase this effect. Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can also make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving cyclosporine before the transplant and cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening.

This phase I/II trial studies how well autologous stem cell transplant followed by donor stem cell transplant works in treating patients with lymphoma that has returned or does not respond to treatment. Peripheral blood stem cell transplant using stem cells from the patient or a donor may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy used to kill cancer cells. The donated stem cells may also help destroy any remaining cancer cells (graft-versus-tumor effect).

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining chemotherapy with monoclonal antibody therapy may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining pentostatin and cyclophosphamide with rituximab in treating patients who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia or lymphocytic lymphoma.

This non-randomized study will test the safety and effectiveness of Genasense in patients with CLL.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of two treatment regimens for patients in developing countries with diffuse non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.