Cyclophosphamide Treatment Options in New Orleans, LA

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage cancer cells. Combining chemotherapy with monoclonal antibody therapy and radiation therapy may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy plus rituximab and radiation therapy in treating patients who have stage I or stage II non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Read Less

This pilot, phase II trial studies the side effects of giving bortezomib together with combination chemotherapy and to see how well it works in treating young patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma. Bortezomib may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving bortezomib together with combination chemotherapy may kill more cancer cells. Read Less

This study will develop a national cord blood bank for siblings of patients with hemoglobinopathies and thalassemia. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells and may be an effective treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy and whole-brain radiation therapy in patients with primary central nervous system non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Read Less

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether breast cancer tumors respond (as measured by pathologic complete response: the absence of microscopic evidence of invasive tumor cells in the breast) to combined chemotherapy of AC(doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide) followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab or lapatinib or both given before surgery to patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. Trastuzumab will also be given to all patients after surgery. The study will also evaluate the toxic effects of the chemotherapy combination, including effects on the heart, and will determine survival and progression-free survival 5 years after treatment. Also, the study will look at whether there are gene expression profiles in the tumor tissue that can predict pathologic complete response. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving more than one drug may kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known which combination chemotherapy regimen is more effective in treating childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is comparing different combination chemotherapy regimens to see how well they work in treating children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Thalidomide may stop the growth of tumor cells by stopping blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known if combination chemotherapy is more effective with or without thalidomide for multiple myeloma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with or without thalidomide in treating patients who have refractory multiple myeloma. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage cancer cells. Combining chemotherapy and radiation therapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy and radiation therapy and kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known which treatment regimen is more effective for multiple myeloma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of melphalan, total-body irradiation, and peripheral stem cell transplantation with that of combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have previously untreated multiple myeloma. Read Less

RATIONALE: Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy used to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known if total-body irradiation plus peripheral stem cell transplantation is more effective with busulfan or with cyclophosphamide for myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of busulfan with that of cyclophosphamide in patients undergoing total-body irradiation plus peripheral stem cell transplantation for advanced myelodysplastic syndrome or related acute myeloid leukemia. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with bone marrow transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with or without bone marrow transplantation in treating patients who have acute lymphocytic leukemia. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving combination chemotherapy before surgery may shrink the tumor so that it can be removed. Giving combination chemotherapy after surgery may kill any remaining tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well surgery and/or combination chemotherapy work in treating children with fibrosarcoma. Read Less

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known which chemotherapy regimen is more effective when combined with radiation therapy for treating medulloblastoma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare two combination chemotherapy treatments plus radiation therapy in treating children with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma. Read Less