View clinical trials related to Graft vs Host Disease.
Filter by:Many patients with hematological malignancies potentially curable by bone marrow transplantation are not considered for transplantation because an HLA identical family or unrelated donor is unavailable. For these patients the only curative option is a transplant from a partially matched family donor. Such transplants are feasible but are less successful than matched sibling donor transplants. The main problems with mismatched transplants are graft rejection, graft-vs-host disease, and regimen-related mortality. This restricts the use of mismatched transplants to patients less than 45 years at high risk of dying from the hematological malignancy. This protocol evaluates a new preparative regimen designed to ensure stem cell engraftment by increased immunosuppression, followed by a G-CSF mobilized T cell depleted, stem cell rich, peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplant from a mismatched related donor in patients with high risk hematological malignancies. This phase I study evaluates engraftment and GVHD following T cell depleted, HLA-mismatched PBPC transplants. Stopping rules will be used to make modifications to the protocol in the event of graft failure. The end points of the study are graft take, acute and chronic GVHD, leukemic relapse, transplant-related mortality, death and leukemia-free survival. Patients will be followed up for 5 years. It is planned to treat up to 35 patients aged between 10 and 45 years.
Diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma fall into the category of blood cancers. Some of these conditions can now be cured by bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The ability of BMT to cure these conditions has been credited to the use of high doses of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and the antileukemia effect of the transplant. Because the effectiveness of BMT relies on the use of high doses of chemotherapy and total body irradiation (TBI), it is a therapy associated with toxic side effects. These side effects are often deadly and have limited BMT for use in patients under the age of 55. In this study researchers plan to treat older patients between the ages of 55 to 75 years with blood cell transplants taken from donors who are genetically matched relatives of the patient. In order to decrease the toxic side effects associated with the transplant, researchers will not use chemoradiotherapy. Instead they plan to use intensive immunosuppressive therapy and allow the transplanted cells to take effect.
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.
Both patients and marrow donors are treated on Regimen A; patients then proceed to Regimen B. The following acronyms are used: ABM Allogeneic Bone Marrow BU Busulfan, NSC-750 CF Leucovorin calcium, NSC-3590 CTX Cyclophosphamide, NSC-26271 G-CSF Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (source not specified) GM-CSF Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor (Hoechst/Immunex), NSC-613795 GVHD Graft-vs.-Host Disease Mesna Mercaptoethane sulfonate, NSC-113891 MTX Methotrexate, NSC-740 PP Unconjugated Myeloma Immunoglobulin plasma paraprotein, NSC-684150 PP-KLH Myeloma immunoglobulin plasma paraprotein vaccine, NSC-678327, with keyhole limpet hemocyanin TBI Total-Body Irradiation TSPA Thiotepa, NSC-6396 Regimen A (Donor and Patient): Vaccine Therapy with Immunoadjuvant. PP-KLH (individual myeloma immunoglobulin plasma paraprotein vaccine prepared from recipient's plasma paraprotein and conjugated with KLH); and PP; with GM-CSF. Regimen B (Patient): Myeloablative Radiotherapy and 2-Drug Combination Chemotherapy or 2-Drug Combination Myeloablative Chemotherapy followed by Hematopoietic Rescue with Growth Factor Support and GVHD Prophylaxis followed by Vaccine Therapy with Immunoadjuvant. TBI; and CTX/TSPA; or BU/CTX; followed by ABM; with G-CSF; and CYSP; MTX/CF; followed by PP-KLH; with GM-CSF.
This study will investigate the safety and effectiveness of a new stem cell transplant procedure for treating chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Transplantation of donated stem cells (cells produced by the bone marrow that mature into the different blood components-white cells, red cells and platelets) is a very effective treatment for CML. However, despite its success in a large number of patients, there is still a significant risk of death from the procedure. In addition, it results in sterility and leaves patients at increased risk for other cancers and for eye cataracts. These complications result from the intensive chemotherapy and radiation patients receive before the transplant to rid the body of cancer cells. In this study, radiation will not be used and chemotherapy drugs will be given in lower doses to try to reduce the dangers of the procedure. Patients with CML will be tested for matching with a donor (family member) and will undergo a medical history, physical examination and several tests (e.g., breathing tests, X-rays, and others) to determine eligibility for the study. Participants will then undergo apheresis to collect lymphocytes (white blood cells important in the immune system). In apheresis, whole blood is drawn through a needle in the arm, similar to donating a unit of blood. The required component-in this case, lymphocytes-are separated and removed, and the rest of the blood is returned through a needle in the other arm. Each day starting five days before the transplant, the donor will be given an injection of G-CSF, a drug that releases stem cells from the bone marrow into the blood stream. The cells will be collected after the fifth injection and again after a sixth injection the following day. Meanwhile, patients will be given cyclophosphamide and fludarabine, and perhaps anti-thymocyte globulin, to prevent rejection of the donated cells. On the day of the transplant, patients will be given cyclosporin to prevent graft-versus-host-disease, a disease in which the donor cells react against the patient's cells. They may also be given lymphocytes after the transplant to boost the immune system and destroy leukemia cells. After 30, 60 and 100 days, bone marrow cells and circulating lymphocytes will be checked to see how many are of donor cell origin. If less than 100 percent are of donor origin, more lymphocytes will be transfused. Patients will have physical examinations and blood tests at least weekly for 3 months and then periodically for 5 years.
To determine if a reduction in morbidity and mortality from acute and chronic graft versus host disease (GvHD) can be achieved through use of T-cell depletion techniques without a counterbalancing increase in relapse of leukemia in patients receiving an unrelated donor marrow transplant.