Cyclophosphamide Treatment Options in Maryland

RATIONALE: 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 more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more cancer cells. Giving chemotherapy with an autologous stem cell or bone marrow transplant may allow more chemotherapy to be given so that more cancer cells are killed. Procedures, such as fludeoxyglucose F 18 positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) (done during chemotherapy) may help doctors predict a patient's risk of relapse and help plan the best treatment. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well FDG-PET works in predicting risk of relapse in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who are undergoing combination chemotherapy with or without autologous stem cell or bone marrow transplant. Read Less

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, 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. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving rituximab together with cyclophosphamide may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving rituximab together with cyclophosphamide works in treating patients with high risk, refractory, or relapsed multiple myeloma. Read Less

The primary objective of the phase III study is to investigate whether IMA901 can prolong overall survival in patients with metastatic and/or locally advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) when added to standard first-line therapy with sunitinib. Secondary objectives include a subgroup analysis of overall survival in patients defined by a certain biomarker signature, the investigation of progression-free survival, best tumor response, safety, and immunological parameters. Read Less

RATIONALE: Giving colony-stimulating factors, such as G-CSF, monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, and chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide, helps stem cells move from the patient's bone marrow to the blood so they can be collected and stored for peripheral stem cell transplant. Giving chemotherapy, such as carmustine, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide, before transplant stops the growth of cancer cells by stopping them from dividing or killing them. The stem cells are then returned to the patient to replace the blood-forming cells that were destroyed by the chemotherapy. More rituximab is given after transplant to kill any remaining cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving rituximab together with cyclophosphamide and G-CSF followed by combination chemotherapy works in treating patients undergoing an autologous stem cell transplant followed by rituximab and GM-CSF for refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Read Less

Background: The mainstay of therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients remains systemic chemotherapy. Although partial remissions of up to 60% are obtained with conventional regimens, multiple myeloma is essentially an incurable disease with a median survival of approximately 30 months. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) results in a high percentage of complete remissions, but it can be associated with significant treatment-related mortality, which has been primarily attributed to conventional myeloablative transplant regimens. Recent clinical studies have shown that highly immunosuppressive yet non-myeloablative doses of fludarabine-based chemotherapy can result in alloengraftment. Even with a reduction in treatment related mortality, success with allogeneic SCT is limited by a significant risk of relapse. Donor immunization with myeloma Id in the setting of a non-myeloablative allogeneic SCT may represent a novel strategy for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Objectives: Primary Objectives: To induce cellular and humoral immunity in allogeneic stem cell donors and recipients against the unique idiotype expressed by the recipient's myeloma. To determine whether antigen-specific immunity, induced in the stem cell donor, can be passively transferred to the allogeneic SCT recipient in the setting of a non-myeloablative conditioning regimen. Secondary Objectives: To evaluate the effect of the Fludarabine-(etoposide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone, cyclophosphamide) EPOCH regimen on host T cell depletion and myeloid depletion prior to allogeneic SCT. To determine the efficacy of a novel conventional chemotherapy regimen (Fludarabine-EPOCH) in the setting multiple myeloma. To determine the treatment-related morbidity and mortality of allogeneic stem cell transplantation using a non-myeloablative conditioning regimen in multiple myeloma. To determine if the re-vaccination of allogeneic stem cell donors with the unique idiotype expressed by the recipient's myeloma will enhance cellular and humoral immunity to patient specific-idiotype prior to lymphocyte donation for the treatment of patients with recurrent or progressive disease after transplantation. Eligibility: Patients 18-75 years of age with Immunoglobulin G (IgG) or Immunoglobulin A (IgA) multiple myeloma. Patients must have achieved at least a partial remission following initial conventional chemotherapy regimen or after autologous stem cell transplantation. Consenting first degree relative matched at 6/6 or 5/6 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antigens. Design: Phase 2 trial using a non-myeloablative conditioning regimen to reduce treatment-related toxicity. Recipient will undergo a plasmapheresis to obtain starting material for the isolation of idiotype protein. Donors would be immunized with an Id vaccine prepared from the patient. Prior to transplantation patients would receive a conventional chemotherapy regimen which contains agents active in myeloma and is T cell depleting. The allogeneic SCT would be performed with a conditioning regimen consisting of cyclophosphamide and fludarabine. The stem cell source would be blood mobilized with filgrastim. Recipients will be immunized with the Id vaccine following transplantation. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Bevacizumab may also stop the growth of breast cancer by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Giving chemotherapy and bevacizumab before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Giving bevacizumab after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. It is not yet known which chemotherapy regimen is more effective with or without bevacizumab in treating breast cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying six different chemotherapy regimens to compare how well they work with or without bevacizumab in treating women with stage I, stage II, or stage IIIA breast cancer that can be removed by surgery. Read Less

Background: Low-dose chemotherapy is easier for the body to tolerate than typical high-dose chemotherapy and involves a shorter period of complete immune suppression. Donor immune cells called lymphocytes, or T cells, fight residual tumor cells that might have remained in the recipients body after stem cell transplant, in what is called a graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect. The immune-suppressing drug sirolimus appears to help prevent graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a side effect of stem cell transplant in which donated T cells sometimes attack healthy tissues, damaging organs such as the liver, intestines and skin. Th2 cells are cells collected from the transplant donor and grown in a high concentration of sirolimus. Objectives: To determine whether stem cell transplantation using low-dose chemotherapy and sirolimus-generated Th2 cells can cause a remission of advanced kidney cancer. Eligibility: Patients between 18 and 75 years of age who have kidney cancer that has spread beyond the kidney and who have a tissue-matched sibling stem cell donor. Design: Patients undergo stem cell transplantation as follows: * Low-intensity chemotherapy with pentostatin and cyclophosphamide over a 21-day period to reduce the level of the immune system to prepare for the transplant. Pentostatin is given through a vein (intravenous (IV)) on days 1, 8 and 15; cyclophosphamide tablets are taken by mouth for 21 consecutive days. * Sirolimus tablets, taken by mouth, starting 2 days before the transplant and continuing until 60 days after the transplant. * IV infusions of stem cells and Th2 cells. Following the transplant, patients have the following procedures: * Additional Th2 cell infusions on days 14 and 45 after the transplant. * Follow-up visits at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center twice a week for the first 6 months after the transplant and then less frequently for at least 5 years to evaluate response to treatment and treatment side effects. Evaluations include a bone marrow aspirate and biopsy 1 month after transplant and periodic blood tests and imaging procedures (e.g., computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans). Read Less

Background: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surgery Branch has developed an experimental therapy that involves taking white blood cells from patients' tumors, growing them in the laboratory in large numbers, and then giving the cells back to the patient. These cells are called Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes, or TIL and we have given this type of treatment to over 100 patients. In this study, we are selecting a specific subset of white blood cells from the tumor that we think are the most effective in fighting tumors and will use only these cells in making the tumor fighting cells. Objective: The purpose of this study is to see if these specifically selected tumor fighting cells can cause melanoma tumors to shrink and to see if this treatment is safe. Eligibility: - Adults age 18-70 with metastatic melanoma who have a tumor that can be safely removed. Design: * Work up stage: Patients will be seen as an outpatient at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical Center and undergo a history and physical examination, scans, x-rays, lab tests, and other tests as needed * Surgery: If the patients meet all of the requirements for the study they will undergo surgery to remove a tumor that can be used to grow the TIL product. * Leukapheresis: Patients may undergo leukapheresis to obtain additional white blood cells. {Leukapheresis is a common procedure, which removes only the white blood cells from the patient.} * Treatment: Once their cells have grown, the patients will be admitted to the hospital for the conditioning chemotherapy, the tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) cells and aldesleukin. They will stay in the hospital for about 4 weeks for the treatment. Follow up: Patients will return to the clinic for a physical exam, review of side effects, lab tests, and scans about every 1-3 months for the first year, and then every 6 months to 1 year as long as their tumors are shrinking. Follow up visits take up to 2 days. ... Read Less

Background: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surgery Branch has developed an experimental therapy for treating patients with cancer that involves taking white blood cells from the patient, growing them in the laboratory in large numbers, genetically modifying these specific cells with a type of virus (retrovirus) to attack only the tumor cells, and then giving the cells back to the patient. This type of therapy is called gene transfer. Researchers want to test this on human papilloma virus (HPV)-associated cancers. Objective: - The purpose of this study is to determine a safe number of these cells to infuse and to see if these particular tumor-fighting cells (Anti-HPV E6) can shrink tumors associated with HPV and test the toxicity of this treatment. Eligibility: - Adults age 18-66 with an HPV-16-associated cancer. Design: * Work up stage: Patients will be seen as an outpatient at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical Center and undergo a history and physical examination, scans, x-rays, lab tests, and other tests as needed * Leukapheresis: If the patients meet all of the requirements for the study they will undergo leukapheresis to obtain white blood cells to make the anti HPV E6 cells. {Leukapheresis is a common procedure, which removes only the white blood cells from the patient.} * Treatment: Once their cells have grown, the patients will be admitted to the hospital for the conditioning chemotherapy, the anti HPV E6 cells and aldesleukin. They will stay in the hospital for about 4 weeks for the treatment. Follow up: Patients will return to the clinic for a physical exam, review of side effects, lab tests, and scans about every 1-3 months for the first year, and then every 6 months to 1 year as long as their tumors are shrinking. Follow up visits take up to 2 days. Read Less

This randomized pilot clinical trial is studying the side effects and how well giving temozolomide and cixutumumab together with combination chemotherapy works in treating patients with metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies, such as cixutumumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Giving temozolomide and cixutumumab together with combination chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. Read Less

Background: * Tumors of the thymus are rare and can be treated with surgery, but it is often difficult to determine whether a thymic tumor is malignant based on biopsy alone and the long-term survival rate is less than 50 percent. Because thymic tumors are so rare, most treatment knowledge comes from a relatively small series of cases, and the choice of treatment usually depends on the hospital or clinic staff's experience and familiarity with a given chemotherapy and surgery regimen. * Belinostat is an investigational anticancer drug that has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in any cancer. Researchers are interested in determining whether belinostat can be combined with conventional chemotherapy to safely and effectively treat advanced thymic cancer. Objectives: * To determine a safe and tolerable dose of belinostat that can be given in combination with cisplatin, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide. * To determine if belinostat (combined with the abovementioned standard chemotherapy regimen) is effective against thymic cancer cells. Eligibility: - Individuals at least 18 years of age who have been diagnosed with advanced or recurrent thymic malignancy that is not considered to be curable with surgery or radiation therapy, and who have not received previous chemotherapy treatment. Design: * Participants will be screened with a physical exam, blood tests, and imaging studies as directed by the study researchers. * Participants will receive six 21-day cycles (18 weeks) of treatment with belinostat in combination with cisplatin, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide. The treatment will require continuous infusion over 3 days, and participants will remain in the treatment center during this time. Participants will have regular blood tests, clinic visits, and imaging studies during the treatment period. * Participants who complete the six treatment cycles with no severe side effects may be offered the option to continue treatment with belinostat alone. * After the 18-week study period, participants will return for regular follow-up exams for at least 4 weeks, and will be asked to remain in contact with the study researchers once a year to continue to study long-term effects.... Read Less

Background: * Recent cancer treatment studies have shown that altering a cancer patient's own white blood cells may help the immune system fight the cancer. In all of these studies, participants donate their own white blood cells through a procedure called leukapheresis, and the cells are altered in the laboratory and given back to the participants. After the cells are given, the patients receive aldesleukin (IL-2) to help the tumor fighting cells stay alive longer. For individuals with metastatic melanoma, pieces of melanoma proteins may be added to the collected white blood cells to help the immune system recognize and attack the cancer cells. * Researchers are interested in testing a new process in which cells from fruit flies (Drosophila) are used to help the melanoma proteins attach to the white blood cells. The fruit fly cells die off shortly after the proteins are introduced to the white blood cells. Researchers are also interested in determining whether IL-2 treatment is necessary after this new cancer treatment process. Objectives: * To test the safety and effectiveness of modified white blood cells (Drosophila-generated CTL) as a treatment for metastatic melanoma that has not responded to standard treatments. * To determine whether IL-2 treatment improves the effectiveness of Drosophila-generated cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL). Eligibility: - Individuals at least 18 years of age who have been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma that has not responded to previous IL-2 treatment. Design: * Participants will be screened with a physical examination and medical history, tumor imaging studies, and heart and lung function tests. * Prior to treatment, participants will have an intravenous catheter inserted into the chest to administer the study drugs. * Participants will have leukapheresis to provide white blood cells for laboratory modification. * Seven days before the start of the treatment, participants will be admitted to the hospital to have chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and fludarabine. These drugs will suppress the immune system to improve the effects of the treatment. * One to four days after the last dose of chemotherapy, participants will receive the modified cells. Participants in the group that will receive IL-2 will begin to receive the treatment 24 hours after the cell infusion, every day for 5 days. All participants will receive filgrastim injections to help the body produce more white blood cells. * Participants will recover in the hospital for about 7 to 12 days after the cell infusion or the last dose of IL-2. Participants will continue to receive medications and provide blood and tumor samples for testing. * Participants will have regular followup visits to assess the effects of the treatment. Read Less