Donor Stem Cell Transplant in Treating Older or Frail Patients With Hematologic Cancer
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2008-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
RATIONALE: Giving low doses of chemotherapy, such as fludarabine and busulfan, before a donor
bone marrow or 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). Giving an infusion of the donor's T cells (donor
lymphocyte infusion) after the transplant may help increase this effect. Sometimes the
transplanted cells from a donor can also make an immune response against the body's normal
cells. Giving antithymocyte globulin before transplant and methotrexate and tacrolimus after
the transplant may stop this from happening.
PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects of donor stem cell transplant in
treating older or frail patients with hematologic cancer.