View clinical trials related to Myelodysplastic Syndromes.
Filter by:The cause of blood and bone marrow cancers is poorly understood; however, most research focuses on how cancer cells grow and develop. Because the causes of these cancers are unknown, current treatments may be unnecessarily harsh and often do not provide a cure. Identifying the causes of blood cancers would allow for the development of treatments that are more likely to provide a cure. To find the causes of blood and bone marrow cancers, we will look for specific cancer cell abnormalities that are responsible for cancer cell growth. We will then look to see if drugs that can reverse these abnormalities can kill cancer cells.
The main purpose of this trial is to assess the efficacy and safety of sitagliptin in enhancing engraftment following umbilical cord blood transplantation (recovery of blood counts after transplant).
The goal of this clinical research study is to compare how two different drugs, decitabine and azacitidine, when given on a shorter than standard dosing schedule can help to control MDS. The safety of the drugs will also be studied. Decitabine is designed to damage the DNA (the genetic material) of cells, which may cause cancer cells to die. Azacitidine is designed to block certain proteins in cancer cells whose job is to stop the function of the tumor-fighting proteins. By blocking the "bad" proteins, the tumor-fighting genes may be able to work better. This could cause the cancer cells to die.
The goal of the present study is to assess, through a randomized phase II trial, the efficacy and safety of Lenalidomide with or without Epoetin beta in transfusion-dependent, ESA-resistant, IPSS low and intermediate-1 risk MDS patients without chromosome 5 abnormality. Patients will receive either Lenalidomide alone or Lenalidomide and Epoetin beta for 4 months. Responders will be eligible for maintenance treatment with cycles identical to the first cycles, until relapse occurs or until unacceptable toxicity.
Patients with some forms of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and multiple myeloma (MM) are not cured with conventional therapy and new approaches are needed. For the last 15 years we have investigated the potential of using a patient's own T cells (a type of white blood cell [WBC]) to eradicate the tumor. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach in cell culture and animal models of AML and MM. Over the last 5 years we have been preparing to treat patients as part of a Phase I (first in human) clinical trial. The trial treatment involves collecting the patient's own WBCs from the blood by a standard well established and safe process called apheresis. The cells are then cultured in a specialized laboratory (under Good Manufacturing Practice conditions, similar to standards under which pharmaceuticals are produced) over 12 days to convert the cells to specialized tumor-attacking T cells. Early in that culture process the cells are exposed to a virus (that is modified so that it cannot infect or replicate outside the special culture conditions) that contains a special gene. Via the virus, this gene inserts into the patient's T cells in culture and gets incorporated into the T cell's genetic machinery. As the T cells replicate, the new gene produces a protein receptor that becomes part of the patient's T cells. This protein receptor on the T cells has the capacity to specifically recognize and bind to a protein on the leukemia or myeloma cells called the "Lewis Y" antigen. After the modified T cells are infused into the patient, they home into the bone marrow (this tracking is monitored by special radiological techniques) where the new protein receptor on the T cell surface can recognize and bind to the cancer cells (which express Lewis Y). Once bound onto the cancer cells, the T cells get activated and subsequently replicate and kill the cancer cells. The novelty of this approach is that the T-cells will only kill cells that have the Lewis Y on their surface - the cancer cells. Moreover, because there are few normal cells in a person's body that carry Lewis Y, this treatment is likely to only have minor side effects. This gene therapy trial is unique and although the primary purpose is to test the safety of this approach, patients will be monitored closely for anti-tumor responses. As the trial progresses, the dose of T cells infused will increase, in the hope that this will result in a better and stronger immune response to the leukemia or myeloma.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a rapidly fatal malignancy of the bone marrow. It can be treated with chemotherapy alone, in some cases, but in the majority of cases, the only treatment that can cure the disease is an allogeneic stem cell transplant, with a cure rate of 30-40%. In another subset, the disease is less responsive to chemotherapy and in these aggressive forms, its cure rate is no better than 20% beyond 2 years, and is usually rapidly fatal within 6 months. Therefore, for this most aggressive form of the disease, modifications to the transplant protocol are required in order to try to improve on these poor results. There are a number of areas within the transplant protocol on which modifications can be made in order to achieve these goals. These include: higher doses of chemotherapy and or radiation; alterations of the new bone marrow graft; and alterations of the immune suppression, enhancing the graft vs. leukemia effect. By focusing on one or more of these components, one might be able to enhance the anti-leukemic aspect of the treatment resulting in a more successful outcome. One aspect the investigators, in Ottawa, have focused on is the initial intensive conditioning regimen, specifically the radiation component. It is the investigators belief that in the most resistant disease it is important to use the highest tolerable anti-leukemic treatment upfront, specifically, enhancing the radiation component of the initial conditioning regimen. Previous studies have suggested that higher doses of radiation might be more effective at eliminating the disease, however, toxicity and logistics of delivering the radiation have limited its use. Technical advances in the delivery of radiation have now permitted the safer use of high doses of radiation. Through modifications to the transplant procedure, the investigators believe that they can deliver higher doses of radiation safely and this will translate into improved outcomes in this high-risk subgroup of patients with AML. Study Objectives The goal of this study is to determine if a total dose of 18Gy ED-TBI followed by an alloHSCT for patients with refractory AML will result in an improved progression-free survival.
This phase II trial studies how well decitabine and total-body irradiation followed by donor bone marrow transplant and cyclophosphamide works in treating patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Giving decitabine and total-body irradiation before a donor bone marrow transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It may also stop 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 decitabine and total-body irradiation before the transplant together with high-dose cyclophosphamide, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening.
1.1 Primary Objectives - To determine the feasibility, tolerability, and toxicities of administering the selective CDK 4/6 inhibitor PD 0332991 prior to the combination of ara-C and Mitoxantrone for adults with relapsed and refractory acute leukemias and high risk myelodysplasias (MDS), including primary refractory disease - To determine the direct cytotoxic effects of single agent PD 0332991 on malignant blasts - To determine the maximal tolerated dose (MTD) of PD 0332991 in timed sequential combination with ara-C and Mitoxantrone - To determine if the timed sequential combination of PD 0332991 with ara-C and mitoxantrone can induce clinical responses in adults with relapsed or refractory acute leukemias and high-risk MDS 1.2 Secondary Objectives: - To determine the ability of PD 0332991 to directly induce apoptosis in malignant cell populations in vivo - To obtain pharmacodynamic (PD) data regarding the ability of PD 0332991 to arrest malignant cells in the G 1 phase of cell cycle, followed by synchronized release of those cells into S phase upon discontinuation of PD 0332991 and resultant enhanced ara-C cytotoxicity
This pilot clinical trial studies the safety and maximum tolerated dose of brentuximab vedotin when given with tacrolimus and methotrexate after unrelated allogeneic donor stem cell transplant in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or myelodysplastic syndromes. The addition of brentuximab vedotin to tacrolimus and methotrexate may result in a significant reduction of graft versus host disease in these patients.
To determine the impact of maintenance therapy in patients with MDS/AML in remission.