Active clinical trials for "Myeloproliferative Disorders"

Aim of the study is to analyze the expression of genes and sequences encoding the human mammalian diaphanous (mDia) related formin proteins to test the hypothesis that defects in the mDia expression or function might drive the pathophysiology of myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia and other myeloproliferative diseases.

RATIONALE: Questionnaires that measure coping may improve the ability to plan supportive care for patients undergoing donor bone marrow transplant. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying coping in patients who are undergoing a donor bone marrow transplant.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy before a donor stem cell transplant helps 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. It is not yet known whether donor stem cell transplant is more effective with or without chemotherapy in treating primary myelodysplastic syndrome. PURPOSE: This phase III trial is studying how well donor stem cell transplant given with chemotherapy works and compares it with donor stem cell transplant without chemotherapy in treating children with primary myelodysplastic syndrome.

RATIONALE: Questionnaires that measure quality-of-life may improve the health care team's ability to plan supportive care for patients undergoing donor bone marrow transplantation. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying quality of life in patients who are undergoing donor bone marrow transplantation.

RATIONALE: Gathering information about how often methemoglobinemia occurs in young patients receiving dapsone for hematologic cancer or aplastic anemia may help doctors learn more about the disease and plan the best treatment. PURPOSE: This research study is looking at methemoglobinemia in young patients with hematologic cancer or aplastic anemia treated with dapsone.

Myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative Disease represent conditions with increased risk for pulmonary hypertension. However, the exact prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in these conditions is not known. The effects of pulmonary hypertension on the clinical picture and the symptoms of patients in these conditions needs also further exploration. This exploratory study is designed to describe the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in the population with such hematologic diseases, and the stages of pulmonary hypertension as well its effect on exercise capacity at time of diagnosis.

RATIONALE: Collecting and storing samples of blood and bone marrow from patients with cancer to study in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about diagnosing cancer and how well patients will respond to treatment. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to collect and store blood and bone marrow samples from patients with hematologic cancer to be tested in the laboratory.

Heat-shock proteins (HSP) have been very highly conserved throughout the evolution of species and are characterized by their chaperone function, thanks to their ability to prevent aggregation and to promote the renaturation/break down of damaged proteins. Among other targets, they also chaperone JAK2, a key step that is deregulated in signalling in myeloproliferative syndromes (MPS) because of the JAK2V617F mutation. These HSP also have a potent cytoprotective action through their multiples inhibiting effects on apoptotic processes. Little is known about levels of HSP expression, in particular for HSP70 and HSP27, in MPS cells. However, in vitro studies of different cell models have shown the interest of HSP90 inhibitors in slowing cell proliferation in MPS. These results have been confirmed in animal models with results in terms of blood counts and overall survival. In addition, it seems that the V617F mutated form of JAK2 is more sensitive than the wild-type to HSP90 inhibitors. Finally, inhibitors of HSP90 remain efficacious with regard to the inhibition of cell growth, even in cases of resistance to JAK2 inhibitors. Nonetheless, HSP90 inhibitors are known to stimulate the expression of other HSP, notably HSP27 and HSP70, which are, through their properties, tumorigenic and could lead to an escape phenomenon. Thus the combined use of several HSP inhibitors could be beneficial, and eventually present synergistic effects on the inhibition of tumour processes.

RATIONALE: Infection prophylaxis and management may help prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection caused by a stem cell transplant. PURPOSE:This clinical trial studies infection prophylaxis and management in treating cytomegalovirus infection in patients with hematologic malignancies previously treated with donor stem cell transplant.

We hope to determine the importance of different genes (including B receptors) in anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. This has important benefits to patients exposed to anthracyclines, as this could help determine whether certain individuals have increased susceptibility to cardiac injury.