Active clinical trials for "Preleukemia"

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.

This phase II clinical trial is studying how well giving busulfan, fludarabine phosphate, and anti-thymocyte globulin followed by donor stem cell transplant and azacitidine works in treating patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and older patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as busulfan and fludarabine phosphate, before a donor 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. The donated stem cells may replace the patient's immune cells and help destroy any remaining cancer cells (graft-vs-tumor effect). Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can also make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving anti-thymocyte globulin before transplant and giving azacitidine, tacrolimus, and methotrexate after the transplant may stop this from happening.

Background: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are bone marrow disorders characterized by anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia (low red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet counts). Patients with MDS are at risk for symptomatic anemia, infection, and bleeding, as well as a risk of progression to acute leukemia. Standard treatments for MDS have significant relapse rates. MDS patients with thrombocytopenia who fail standard therapies require regular, expensive, and inconvenient platelet transfusions, and are at risk for further serious bleeding complications. Eltrombopag is a drug designed to mimic the protein thrombopoietin, which causes the body to make more platelets. Eltrombopag has been able to increase platelet counts in healthy volunteers and in patients with chronic ITP (a disease where patients destroy their own platelets very rapidly and thus develop thrombocytopenia), but researchers do not know if the drug can increase platelet counts in patients with MDS. Objectives: To find out whether eltrombopag can improve platelet counts in patients with MDS. To determine whether eltrombopag is safe for patients with MDS. Eligibility: Patients 18 years of age and older who have consistently low blood platelet counts related to MDS that has not responded to conventional treatment. Platelet count ≤ 30,000/μL or platelet-transfusion-dependence (requiring at least 4 platelet transfusions in the 8 weeks prior to study entry); OR hemoglobin less than 9.0 gr/dL or red cell transfusion-dependence (requiring at least 4 units of PRBCs in the eight weeks prior to study entry) OR ANC≤500 Design: Treatment with eltrombopag tablets once per day for 16-20 weeks. Participants will be monitored closely throughout the initial treatment, with weekly blood tests and separate evaluations at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) treatment center every 4 weeks. Bone marrow biopsies may be conducted to check for abnormalities in bone marrow. If patients show signs of improved platelet counts after 90 days, treatment will continue with additional doses of eltrombopag. Patients who discontinue taking eltrombopag will be evaluated at the NIH treatment center 4 weeks after ending treatment, and again 6 months after ending treatment to check for potential side effects.

The purpose of this randomized, two-arm, open-label expansion phase study was to collect preliminary efficacy data of panobinostat at the recommended phase II dose (RPIID) level in combination with azacytidine (5-Aza) versus an active control arm 5-Aza alone. This randomized phase II part also allowed collecting safety data of panobinostat in combination with 5-Aza in comparison to single-agent 5-aza.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ON 01910.Na Concentrate when it is administered as an intravenous continuous infusion (IVCI) over 72 hours once every 2 weeks in a broad population of MDS patients. Rationale for this study is based on the activity observed in another study with ON 01910.Na in patients with refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB) 1 and 2 MDS. This study will examine ON 01910.Na in a broader population of MDS and AML patients. This phase I/II study will establish the Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) starting with a dose of 800 mg/m2 per day administered over 24 hours for 2 consecutive days as a continuous intravenous infusion, once a week for 3 weeks of a 4-week cycle and examine the efficacy and safety profile at the MTD.

The purpose of this study is to: Test the safety of the research study drug, lenalidomide, when given with Idarubicin and Cytarabine See how many respond to combination treatment with lenalidomide, Idarubicin and Cytarabine See how long people respond to this combination therapy See how long people live after being treated with this combination of drugs

Background: Most patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and many patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) have a protein called Wilm's Tumor 1 (WT1) in their cancer cells. This protein is thought to be able to influence the growth of these cancers. A vaccine made with the WT1 protein may boost the immune system to help fight these cancers in patients whose cancer cells contain the protein. Objectives: To determine the safety, effectiveness and side effects of giving the WT1 vaccine and donor white blood cells to patients with AML, ALL, CML or NHL who have previously received standard treatment and undergone stem cell transplantation. To determine the immune response to the WT1 vaccine and donor white blood cells in these patients and to determine if the response is related to the amount of WT1 protein in the patient's cancer cells. Eligibility: Patients between 1 and 75 years of age with the blood antigen human leukocyte antigen (HLA-A2) and the WT1 cancer protein who have persistent or recurrent blood cancers after stem cell transplantation. The prior stem cell transplant donor must be willing to provide additional cells, which will be used to prepare the cellular vaccines and for donor lymphocyte (white blood cell) infusions. Design: Patients are given the WT1 vaccine every 2 weeks for 6 weeks (weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10). Each vaccination consists of two injections in the upper arm or thigh. On weeks 0, 4 and 8, patients also receive white blood cells from a donor to enhance the immune response. The cells are also given as a 15- to 30-minute infusion through a vein about 1 hour after the vaccine injection. Donor infusions are given only to patients with mild or no graft-vs-host disease resulting from their prior stem cell transplantation. Periodic physical examinations, blood and urine tests, scans to evaluate disease and other tests as needed are done for 12 months after enrollment in the study.

The purpose of this study is to to determine the recommended dose level of JNJ-30979754 (decitabine) as well as to assess the safety and effectiveness in patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

This will be an open-label, non-randomized trial pilot phase II trial open to patients with myelodysplastic syndrome. The purpose of the study is to find out if the combination of decitabine, arsenic trioxide and ascorbic acid is safe.

The objective of this research study is to determine the safety and feasibility of chelation therapy with deferoxamine for patients with iron overload who are receiving a stem cell transplant. Patients who have iron overload prior to stem cell transplantation may have more toxicity from the transplantation procedure, and thus may benefit from an attempt at iron chelation pre- and peri-transplantation. In this study we are examining the use of deferoxamine starting 2 weeks to 3 months prior to transplantation and continuing through the preparative regimen.