Lactobacillus in Preventing Infection in Patients Undergoing a Donor Stem Cell Transplant for Hematologic Cancer or Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Currently undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation from a related or unrelated donor for a hematologic malignancy or myelodysplastic syndrome
• •Hematopoietic engraftment as evidenced by recovery of the absolute neutrophil count \> 1000/μL for \> 3 days without filgrastim (G-CSF) support within 30 days of transplant
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •ECOG performance status 0-2
• •Serum creatinine ≤ 2.0
• •AST or ALT ≤ 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• •Total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 times ULN
• •No clostridium difficile enterocolitis diagnosed during the transplant hospitalization in the peri-transplant period
• •Able to take medications by mouth
• •No evidence of graft-vs-host disease
• •No history of inflammatory bowel disease or other chronic diarrheal illness
• •No history of hypersensitivity to milk proteins
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •See Disease Characteristics
• •More than 3 months since prior use of probiotics supplements, excluding yogurt and cheeses with live cultures
• •No concurrent over-the-counter medications or herbal remedies