Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide in Treating Patients Who Are Undergoing Donor Stem Cell Transplant for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia or Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2010-07-01

Summary

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy before a donor bone marrow transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It also helps stop the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. Also, monoclonal antibodies, such as alemtuzumab, can find cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal 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 methotrexate, cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil after the transplant may stop this from happening. Once the donated stem cells begin working, the patient's immune system may see the remaining cancer cells as not belonging in the patient's body and destroy them (called graft-versus-tumor effect). Giving an infusion of the donor's white blood cells (donor lymphocyte infusion) may boost this effect.

PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of giving fludarabine together with cyclophosphamide and to see how well they work in treating patients who are undergoing donor stem cell transplant for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia or Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

• Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2

Details

• Lead Sponsor: German CLL Study Group
• Treatments: Alemtuzumab; Antilymphocyte Serum; Busulfan; Cyclophosphamide; Cyclosporine; Cyclosporins; Fludarabine; Fludarabine phosphate; Methotrexate; Mycophenolate mofetil; Mycophenolic Acid; Rituximab; Vidarabine