Active clinical trials for "Multiple Myeloma"

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. Combining chemotherapy with donor peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining total-body irradiation with fludarabine and donor peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have hematologic cancer.

Chemotherapy can often cause anemia in patients with cancer. Anemia is a low number of red blood cells. The symptoms of anemia may include fatigue, dizziness, headache, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Erythropoietin is a hormone made by the kidneys that signals the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells. Recombinant human erythropoietin has been produced in the laboratory and has the same effect as the hormone produced by the body. Use of recombinant human erythropoietin allows the body to produce more red blood cells, possibly eliminating or decreasing your symptoms and the need for a red blood cell transfusion. Recombinant human erythropoietin is FDA approved to treat anemia in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. This clinical study is investigating the effectiveness of darbepoetin alfa for the treatment of anemia in patients with non-myeloid malignancies who are receiving chemotherapy every three weeks. Darbepoetin alfa is a recombinant erythropoietic protein that stimulates the production of red blood cells. This medication has not been approved to treat cancer patients with anemia, however it has been approved by the FDA to treat chronic renal failure patients with anemia.

This phase II trial studies the side effects and the best dose of alemtuzumab when given together with fludarabine phosphate and low-dose total body irradiation (TBI) and how well it works before donor stem cell transplant in treating patients with hematological malignancies. Giving chemotherapy and low-dose TBI 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. Also, monoclonal antibodies, such as alemtuzumab, can find cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal 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 also make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving cyclosporine (CSP) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) after transplant may stop this from happening.

The main objective of this study is to assess the long-term effectiveness of SCIO-469 as monotherapy, or in combination with bortezomib in relapsed, refractory patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who have previously demonstrated clinical benefit in the Scios B003 study.

This phase II trial studies the side effects and how well bortezomib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride work in treating patients multiple myeloma that are experiencing symptoms and have not received prior treatment. Bortezomib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.

RATIONALE: Drugs such as melphalan, thalidomide, and dexamethasone may be effective in treating patients with primary systemic amyloidosis. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving melphalan together with thalidomide and dexamethasone works in treating patients with primary systemic amyloidosis.

The main goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of these drugs, and whether they can be given safely together.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate time to progression, overall survival, response rate and safety for the two open-label treatment groups; DOXIL/CAELYX in combination with VELCADE vs. VELCADE monotherapy.

RATIONALE: Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy. Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor are rejected by the body's normal cells. Ultraviolet-B light therapy given before and after allogeneic stem cell transplantation may help prevent this from happening. PURPOSE: Clinical trial to study the effectiveness of combining ultraviolet-B light therapy with allogeneic stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have hematologic malignancies.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as melphalan, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. An autologous stem cell transplant using the patient's stem cells may be able to replace blood-forming cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy. Giving white blood cells from a donor may help the patient's body destroy any remaining cancer cells. Interleukin-2 may stimulate the white blood cells to kill cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of donor white blood cell infusions and interleukin-2 and to see how well they work in treating patients who are undergoing an autologous stem cell transplant for relapsed advanced lymphoid cancer.