Active clinical trials for "Myelodysplastic Syndromes"

This study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of treating patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with both peripheral blood stem cells from a family member and umbilical cord blood stem cells from an unrelated donor. Patients with SAA or MDS for whom other treatments have failed or are not available may be eligible for this study. Candidates may not have a tissue-matched sibling or matched unrelated donor and must have a family member who is a partial tissue type match. Participants undergo the following tests and procedures: Insertion of a central intravenous (IV) line (plastic tube) into a large vein. The tube is used for giving the donated stem cells and antibiotics and other medicines, for transfusions of red blood cells and platelets, and for collecting blood samples. Preparatory chemotherapy (fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and anti-thymocyte globulin) and total body irradiation to suppress immunity and prevent rejection of the donated cells. Infusion of the donated stem cells and umbilical cord cells. Immune suppression with the drugs tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and prednisone to prevent rejection of the donated cells and to prevent graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a complication of stem cell transplants in which the donors immune cells destroy the patients healthy tissues. The average hospital stay after stem cell transplantation is 3 to 4 weeks. Patients return for frequent follow-up visits for the first 2 to 4 months after transplantation. Once the patient returns home, his or her referring physician is asked to send results of any laboratory testing to the NIH researchers at least every 3 months for the first 3 years and annually thereafter. Patient follow-up visits are scheduled at NIH at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years after transplantation to monitor for signs of disease or post-transplantation complications, such as infection or GVHD. After 5 years, participants are offered the opportunity to enroll in NHLBIs long-term evaluation and follow-up care protocol.

Giving chemotherapy drugs, such as fludarabine and busulfan, before a donor peripheral stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It also stops 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 cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil before and after the transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying the side effects of giving donor peripheral stem cell transplant together with fludarabine and busulfan and to see how well it works in treating patients with hematologic cancers.

The prognosis of pediatric patients with hematologic malignancies whose disease is primarily refractory or those who experience a chemotherapy resistant bone marrow relapse is extremely poor. When new agents or chemotherapeutic regimens are unable to induce remission in this patient population, hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is also a poor alternative. Thus, in this very high risk group, additional attempts at remission induction with various combinations of chemotherapy alone will unlikely improve outcome and will contribute to overall toxicity. Alternative therapies are needed in these patients with chemotherapy resistant disease. Immunotherapy with natural killer (NK) cell infusion has the potential to decrease toxicity and induce hematologic remission. NK cells can kill target cells, including leukemia cells, without prior exposure to those cells. In patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT, several studies have demonstrated the powerful effect of NK cells against leukemia. Furthermore, NK cell infusions in patients with primary refractory or multiple-relapsed leukemia have been shown to be well tolerated and void of graft-versus-host disease effects. In this high risk group, complete leukemic remission has been observed in several of these patients after NK cell infusion. With the current technology available at St. Jude, we have developed a procedure to purify NK cells from adult donors. This protocol will assess the safety of chemotherapy and IL-2 administration to facilitate transient NK-cell engraftment in research participants who have chemotherapy refractory hematologic malignancies including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In this same cohort, we will also intend to explore the efficacy of NK cells infused in those participants who have chemotherapy refractory disease.

The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of using a system called CliniMACS to remove Tcells from blood stem cells. Removing T-cells may help stop a side effect called Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD). Some studies have been done with CliniMACS, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved it.

A phase I/II study of the efficacy and safety of an intensified schedule of Azacitidine (Vidaza®) in intermediate-2 and high risk MDS patients.

This research is being done to learn more about nonmyeloablative bone marrow transplantation (BMT), also known as a "mini" transplant for patients with blood cancers, using bone marrow from a relative.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness and safety of azacitidine in the treatment of Taiwanese subjects with higher-risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and busulfan, before a donor bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It also stops the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. The donated stem cells may replace the patient's immune system 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 antithymocyte globulin before transplant and methotrexate and tacrolimus after the transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects of donor stem cell transplant in treating older or frail patients with hematologic cancer.

The goal of this clinical research study is to find out if Revlimid can help to control the disease in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with abnormalities in chromosome number 5. The safety of this treatment will also be studied.

RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide and fludarabine, and radiation therapy before a donor umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It also stops the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. The donated stem cells may replace the patient's immune system 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 cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well giving chemotherapy together with total-body irradiation followed by donor umbilical cord blood transplant, cyclosporine, and mycophenolate mofetil works in treating patients with hematologic cancer.