Reduced-intensity, Related-donor Bone Marrow Transplantation Followed by High-dose Cyclophosphamide for Hematologic Cancers

At the present time there are few or no cures for people with cancer of the blood or lymph glands outside of a bone marrow transplant (BMT). BMT has developed over several decades of research as an effective treatment of various malignant and nonmalignant hematologic diseases. This research is being done to learn more about reduced-intensity bone marrow transplantation (BMT), also known as a "mini" transplant for patients with blood cancers, using bone marrow from a relative. The bone marrow for this transplant comes from a relative who is a half-match or "haplo" match to you. Possible donors include parents, siblings, and children. "Mini" transplants have been given to many people with various cancers but are considered experimental. Over 200 people at Johns Hopkins have received mini transplants with high doses of cyclophosphamide after the transplant. However, the chemotherapy combination and other treatment given before those transplants were different from what is in this study. Although all of the chemotherapy and immune-lowering drugs used in this study are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the combination of medications used in this study are not FDA approved and are experimental.