Active clinical trials for "Preleukemia"

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy, such as fludarabine, busulfan, and etoposide, before a donor umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer 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 antithymocyte globulin before transplant and tacrolimus and prednisone after transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying how well donor umbilical cord blood transplant works in treating patients with advanced hematologic cancer.

This phase I multicenter feasibility trial is studying the safety and potential efficacy of infusing ex vivo expanded cord blood progenitors with one unmanipulated umbilical cord blood unit for transplantation following conditioning with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation (TBI), and immunosuppression with cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for patients with hematologic malignancies. Chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, and TBI given before an umbilical cord blood transplant stops the growth of leukemia cells and works to prevent the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. The healthy stem cells from the donor's umbilical cord blood help the patient's bone marrow make new red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. It may take several weeks for these new blood cells to grow. During that period of time, patients are at increased risk for bleeding and infection. Faster recovery of white blood cells may decrease the number and severity of infections. Studies have shown that counts are more likely to recover more quickly if increased numbers of cord blood cells are given with the transplant. We have developed a way of growing or "expanding" the number of cord blood cells in the lab so that there are more cells available for transplant. We are doing this study to find out whether or not giving these expanded cells along with one unexpanded cord blood unit is safe and if use of expanded cells can decrease the time it takes for white blood cells to recover after transplant. We will study the time it takes for blood counts to recover, which of the two cord blood units makes up the patient's new blood system, and how quickly immune system cells return

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 purpose of this study is to assess the effect of 13 weeks of darbepoetin alfa treatment on erythroid response in anemic subjects with low risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cytarabine and daunorubicin, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies, such as gemtuzumab ozogamicin, can block cancer growth in different ways. Some block the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. Others find cancer cells and help kill them or carry cancer-killing substances to them. It is not yet known whether cytarabine and daunorubicin followed by gemtuzumab ozogamicin is more effective than cytarabine and daunorubicin in treating acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying cytarabine and two different doses of daunorubicin to see how well they work compared to cytarabine and daunorubicin followed by gemtuzumab ozogamicin in treating older patients with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes.

This phase II trial studies how well tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil works in preventing graft-versus-host disease in patients who have undergone total-body irradiation (TBI) with or without fludarabine phosphate followed by donor peripheral blood stem cell transplant for hematologic cancer. Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as fludarabine phosphate, and TBI before a donor peripheral 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. 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 tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening.

Based on success in other diseases, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) has developed a transplant procedure for Fanconi anemia (FA), which does not completely destroy the patient's remaining bone marrow. It should also be less harmful (toxic). Researchers wish to test whether this approach can overcome the graft failure often seen when bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells from an unrelated donor are used. Researchers also will look at whether the procedure is less toxic than a conventional bone marrow transplant (BMT).

This phase I/II trial studies whether stopping cyclosporine before mycophenolate mofetil is better at reducing the risk of life-threatening graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) than the previous approach where mycophenolate mofetil was stopped before cyclosporine. The other reason this study is being done because at the present time there are no curative therapies known outside of stem cell transplantation for these types of cancer. Because of age or underlying health status, patients may have a higher likelihood of experiencing harm from a conventional blood stem cell transplant. This study tests whether this new blood stem cell transplant method can be made safer by changing the order and length of time that immune suppressing drugs are given after transplant.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy and total-body irradiation before a donor peripheral 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 the stem cells from a related donor, that do not exactly match the patient's blood, are infused into the patient they may help the patient's bone marrow make stem cells, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy followed by donor stem cell transplant works in treating patients with hematologic cancer.

This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of biological therapy and to see how well it works in treating patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, or acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Biological therapies, including immunotherapy, can potentially be used to stimulate the immune system and stop cancer cells from growing. Immunotherapy given to patients who have undergone donor stem cell transplantation may be a way to eradicate remaining cancer cells