Active clinical trials for "Plasmacytoma"

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as melphalan, prednisone, and lenalidomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects and best dose of melphalan and lenalidomide when given together with prednisone and to see how well they work in treating patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy 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 when they do not exactly match the patient's blood. 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 antithymocyte globulin before transplant and cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil after transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of giving combination chemotherapy together with total-body irradiation before donor umbilical cord blood transplant and to see how well they work in treating patients with advanced hematologic cancer, metastatic breast cancer, or kidney cancer.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy and total-body irradiation before a donor bone marrow transplant or peripheral blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer and abnormal cells and helps stop the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. When certain 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. Removing the T cells from the donor cells before transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying donor bone marrow that is treated in the laboratory using two different devices to compare how well they work in treating patients who are undergoing a donor bone marrow transplant for hematologic cancer.

RATIONALE: Bortezomib may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving bortezomib after an autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplant may stop the growth of any cancer cells that remain after transplant. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of bortezomib in treating patients with multiple myeloma who have undergone an autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplant.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy before a donor umbilical cord blood transplant helps stop both the growth of cancer cells and 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 chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and busulfan, and antithymocyte globulin before transplant and tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil after transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well giving low-dose fludarabine and busulfan together with anti-thymocyte globulin, followed by donor umbilical cord blood transplant works in treating patients with advanced hematologic cancer.

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 work in different ways to stop the growth of plasma cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Having a peripheral stem cell transplant to replace the blood-forming cells destroyed by chemotherapy, allows higher doses of chemotherapy to be given so that more plasma cells are killed. By reducing the number of plasma cells, the disease may progress more slowly. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving high-dose melphalan together with peripheral stem cell transplant works in treating patients with primary amyloidosis or amyloidosis associated with multiple myeloma.

RATIONALE: Thalidomide may stop the growth of multiple myeloma by stopping blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known whether combining thalidomide with prednisone and giving them after autologous stem cell transplantation may be effective in treating multiple myeloma. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying thalidomide and prednisone to see how well they work compared to observation in treating patients who have undergone stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma.

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.

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies in treating patients who have advanced cancer.