Active clinical trials for "Myelodysplastic Syndromes"

This randomized phase III trial studies how well graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis works in treating patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing unrelated donor peripheral blood stem cell transplant. Giving chemotherapy and total-body irradiation before a donor peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It may also 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 total-body irradiation (TBI) together with fludarabine phosphate (FLU), cyclosporine (CSP), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), or sirolimus before transplant may stop this from happening.

This study evaluated the safety and tolerability of using HSC835 in patients with hematological malignancies.

The purpose of this research study is to find out what effects, good and/or bad, erlotinib has on the patient and their myelodysplastic syndrome. Erlotinib has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat non-small cell lung cancer; however, erlotinib use in this study is considered investigational as the FDA has not approved it for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome.

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 III trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy in treating children who have Down syndrome and myeloproliferative disorder, acute myelogenous leukemia, or myelodysplastic syndrome.

RATIONALE: EMD 121974 may stop the growth of cancer by stopping blood flow to the tumor. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of EMD 121974 in treating patients who have locally advanced or metastatic cancer.

RATIONALE: A vaccine made from a person's myelodysplasia cells may make the body build an immune response to kill cancer cells. Combining vaccine therapy with sargramostim may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of vaccine therapy plus sargramostim in treating patients who have myelodysplastic syndrome.

Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of 6-hydroxymethylacylfulvene in treating patients who have refractory myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, or blastic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die.

RATIONALE: Interleukin-2 may stimulate a person's white blood cells to kill metastatic cancer cells. Interferon alfa may interfere with the growth of the cancer cells. Combining interleukin-2 and interferon alfa may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of interleukin-2 plus interferon alfa in treating adults with metastatic cancer.

Approximately 40% of the patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) die as a consequence of their cytopenia. As in aplastic anemia, the cytopenia of MDS may be partly due to cytotoxic T cell activity. Immunosuppressive therapy may therefore reverse the cytopenia. In a phase II pilot study of anti-thymocyte globin (ATG) to treat myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS); 41% of patients (61% of patients with refractory anemia) have responded in terms of transfusion independence. Recently, Jonasova et al [32] reported a 82% substantial hematological response rate in 18 patients with MDS of the refractory anemia (RA) subtype treated with cyclosporine alone. Just over 50% of the patients in this series had MDS of the hypocellular type. Cyclosporine alone if indeed efficacious would be a powerful therapeutic option that could be readily used by hematologists in the community to treat patients with MDS. This efficacy needs to be proven in a larger study which includes patients with the other subtypes of MDS and more patients with the non-hypocellular forms of MDS (which constitute approximately 70% of the cases in the community). As MDS is a heterogeneous group of disorders, a randomized comparison with the other immunomodulating intervention of proven benefit, ATG, is appropriate. In this randomized study patients with MDS will receive either ATG alone or cyclosporine alone.

Bone marrow transplants (BMT) are one of the accepted therapies used to treat leukemia. However, BMT have risks of complications. One potentially life-threatening complication is known as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The GVHD is a reaction caused by an incompatibility between donor cells and recipient cells. Antigens found on the recipient s cells are recognized by the donor s transplanted white blood cell lymphocytes. These lymphocytes begin attacking the recipient s cells and tissues and may lead to death. One of the most effective ways to prevent this reaction is to remove the lymphocytes from the transplanted marrow. Unfortunately, without lymphocytes the recipient s immune system will be lowered and may result in a relapse of leukemia or an infection. Researchers have shown they can perform effective BMT by removing the lymphocytes prior to the transplant and then later adding the lymphocytes back. This technique can reduce the potential for GVHD and preserve the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect of the transplant. In this study researchers plan to use peripheral blood with lymphocytes removed rather than bone marrow. In order to increase the number of progenitor cells, the cells responsible for correcting the leukemia, donors will receive doses of G-CSF prior to the transplant. G-CSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor) is a growth factor that increases the production of progenitor cells in the donor s blood stream. The study will be broken into two parts. The first part of the study will attempt to determine if peripheral blood with lymphocytes removed can prevent GVHD while preserving the GVL effect of the transplant. In the second part of the study, patients that received the transplant will have the lymphocytes added-back on two separate occasions in order reduce the chances of relapse and infection. The study is designed to treat up to 55 patients ages 10 to 60 years and follow their progress for 5 years.