Active clinical trials for "Neoplasms, Plasma Cell"

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of R115777 in treating patients who have relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Oblimersen may increase the effectiveness of dexamethasone by making cancer cells more sensitive to the drug. It is not yet known if dexamethasone is more effective with or without oblimersen in treating multiple myeloma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of dexamethasone with or without oblimersen in treating patients who have relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

This is a research study for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma remains a non-curable disease however, newer medications and their combinations appear to provide higher response rates and higher complete response rates than current treatment options. One of the new medications in multiple myeloma is Velcade. Preliminary results from a study using a combination of Velcade with Doxil have shown high response rates (disease reduction). Preliminary results also show that an addition of dexamethasone to Velcade in patients not responding to Velcade alone showed improved response rates. This study involves treatment with a new combination of three standard medications: Velcade, Doxil, and dexamethasone (VDd combination). The proposed combination of all three drugs may improve efficacy and response. Velcade is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment in multiple myeloma patients who have received at least two prior therapies and have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy. Velcade is still currently under investigation for other indications. Doxil is not approved for use in multiple myeloma but is an approved drug for use in patients with some other cancers. Several published clinical trials provide evidence that Doxil is an active agent in multiple myeloma and it is used in treatment combinations for multiple myeloma in general practice. Dexamethasone is a standard therapy for multiple myeloma, but is not approved by the FDA for that use. The combination of all three drugs is experimental (not FDA approved). The goals of this study are to determine if this new combination therapy with Velcade, Doxil and dexamethasone is an effective treatment and also to determine the side effects that occur when this combination treatment is given.

The purposes of this study are: To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) for the combination of oral vorinostat and bortezomib in participants with advanced multiple myeloma To assess the safety and tolerability of this regimen and to document the participant's clinical status (by anti-tumor activity) for this combination, as determined per standard of care.

RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, and radiation therapy before a donor bone marrow transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. Giving chemotherapy or radiation therapy before or after transplant also stops the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's bone marrow stem cells. The donated stem cells may replace the patient's immune system 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 tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving fludarabine and cyclophosphamide together with total-body irradiation works in treating patients who are undergoing a donor bone marrow transplant for hematologic cancer.

The primary goal of the study is to determine the best dose of an investigational drug to give to patients with multiple myeloma and to evaluate the investigational drug's effectiveness as a treatment for multiple myeloma.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of suramin in treating patients who have refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma or Castleman's disease.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy used to kill cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have hematologic cancer or aplastic anemia.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known which combination chemotherapy regimen is more effective for multiple myeloma. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is comparing two combination chemotherapy regimens to see how well they work in treating patients with stage II or stage III multiple myeloma.

Background:Plasma exchange has been suggested to be of theoretical benefit in the treatment of acute renal failure at the onset of multiple myeloma. Two small-randomized trials provide conflicting evidence. Objective: To assess the effect of 5 to 7 plasma exchanges in the treatment of acute renal failure at the onset of multiple myeloma. Design: Randomized controlled trial with 4 strata (chemotherapy and dialysis dependence) from 1998 to 2004. Setting: Hospital plasma exchange units in 14 major Canadian medical centers. Participants: 92 voluntary patients between the ages of 18 to 81 with acute renal failure at the onset of myeloma after volume repletion and hypercalcemia. Intervention: 5 to 7 plasma exchanges of 50 ml/Kgm of 5% Human Serum Albumin in first 10 days plus conventional therapy versus conventional therapy alone. Measurements: The primary outcome is a composite measure of death, dialysis dependence or Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study glomerular filtration rate (MDRD GFR) < 30mg/min/1.73 meter squared at 6 months.