Active clinical trials for "Myelodysplastic Syndromes"

RATIONALE: Zoledronic acid, vitamin D, and calcium may prevent bone loss in patients who are undergoing donor stem cell transplant. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying how well zoledronic acid works in preventing osteoporosis in patients undergoing donor stem cell transplant.

RATIONALE: Giving total-body irradiation and chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide, before a donor stem cell transplant helps stop the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells and helps stop the growth of cancer or abnormal 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 immunosuppressive therapy before or after transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving total-body irradiation together with cyclophosphamide works in treating patients who are undergoing donor stem cell transplant for hematologic cancer and other diseases.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as arsenic trioxide and dexamethasone, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Sometimes when chemotherapy is given, it does not stop the growth of cancer cells. The cancer is said to be resistant to chemotherapy. Giving ascorbic acid may reduce drug resistance and allow the cancer cells to be killed. Thalidomide may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking blood flow to the cancer. Giving arsenic trioxide together with ascorbic acid, dexamethasone, and thalidomide may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving arsenic trioxide together with ascorbic acid, dexamethasone, and thalidomide works in treating patients with chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis or myelodysplastic or myeloproliferative disorders.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of romiplostim in thrombocytopenic patients with low or Intermediate-1 risk MDS. In addition, the study will evaluate the platelet response to romiplostim.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy, such as fludarabine, busulfan, and etoposide, before a donor umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer 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 antithymocyte globulin before transplant and tacrolimus and prednisone after transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying how well donor umbilical cord blood transplant works in treating patients with advanced hematologic cancer.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of vorinostat and decitabine in treating patients with relapsed, refractory, or poor-prognosis hematologic cancer or other diseases. Vorinostat may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as decitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving vorinostat together with decitabine may kill more cancer cells

This phase I multicenter feasibility trial is studying the safety and potential efficacy of infusing ex vivo expanded cord blood progenitors with one unmanipulated umbilical cord blood unit for transplantation following conditioning with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation (TBI), and immunosuppression with cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for patients with hematologic malignancies. Chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, and TBI given before an umbilical cord blood transplant stops the growth of leukemia cells and works to prevent the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. The healthy stem cells from the donor's umbilical cord blood help the patient's bone marrow make new red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. It may take several weeks for these new blood cells to grow. During that period of time, patients are at increased risk for bleeding and infection. Faster recovery of white blood cells may decrease the number and severity of infections. Studies have shown that counts are more likely to recover more quickly if increased numbers of cord blood cells are given with the transplant. We have developed a way of growing or "expanding" the number of cord blood cells in the lab so that there are more cells available for transplant. We are doing this study to find out whether or not giving these expanded cells along with one unexpanded cord blood unit is safe and if use of expanded cells can decrease the time it takes for white blood cells to recover after transplant. We will study the time it takes for blood counts to recover, which of the two cord blood units makes up the patient's new blood system, and how quickly immune system cells return

This study will test the safety of giving you specialized white cells from your donor. They are called WT1 sensitized T cells. They have been grown in the lab and are immunized against a protein. The protein is called the Wilms' tumor protein, or WT1. Your leukemic cells make too much of this protein. We want to learn whether the WT1 sensitized T cells will attack the protein and kill the leukemia cells.

This will be an open-label, non-randomized trial pilot phase II trial open to patients with myelodysplastic syndrome. The purpose of the study is to find out if the combination of decitabine, arsenic trioxide and ascorbic acid is safe.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of 13 weeks of darbepoetin alfa treatment on erythroid response in anemic subjects with low risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).