Adverse events

On admission day, you will start to take a drug called allopurinol which helps to protect your kidneys as your body works to discharge cells killed off by your chemotherapy and TBI. Allopurinol tablets will be given to you by mouth up to three times a day for 7 days. You will begin radiation therapy to your entire body at the start of your transplant treatment. This procedure is called TBI (total body irradiation). Radiation will be given to you 2 times a day for 3 or 4 days. After the radiation treatment, you will receive two doses of cyclophosphamide by vein (through a small plastic tube leading into the bloodstream). Each dose takes about 2 hours to administer. When you are given cyclophosphamide, you will also be given a medication called MESNA to help protect your bladder from damage. After you have completed the cyclophosphamide you will rest one day without any anti-cancer therapy.

On admission day, you will start to take a drug called Dilantin, which is used to help prevent seizures while you receive your chemotherapy drugs. You will also start to take a drug called allopurinol,which helps to protect your kidneys as your body works to discharge cells killed off by your chemotherapy and TBI. Allopurinol tablets will be given to you by mouth up to three times a day for 7 days. You will begin the therapy with a drug called busulfan. This medicine is take by mouth four times per day for four days. After the oral busulfan treatment, you will receive two doses of cyclophosphamide over 2 hours by vein (through a small tube leading into the bloodstream). When you are given cyclophosphamide, you will also be given a medication called MESNA to help protect your bladder from damage. Subjects undergoing the Busulfan and Cyclophosphamide regimen will not have total body irradiation (TBI).

On the day of your admission, you will start to take a drug called allopurinol which helps to protect your kidneys as your body works to discharge cells killed off by your chemotherapy and TBI. Chemotherapy will begin on Day -6 with carmustine (BCNU), followed by etoposide (VP-16), cytosine arabinoside (ARA-C), and melphalan. This conditioning regimen is known as the BEAM regimen. The dose of this therapy is high enough to kill cancer cells but will also kill all of your normal blood forming cells. Subjects undergoing the BEAM regimen will not have total body irradiation (TBI).

A conditioning regimen of low-dose fludarabine and TBI is used in the event that a second donation of hematopoietic stem cells is necessary. Chemotherapy with Fludarabine will begin 4 days prior to your transplant. This drug will be given through the catheter in your chest daily for 3 days. TBI (radiation) will be given to you on the day of your transplant. After your TBI, your donor's stem cells / bone marrow will be given to you through your catheter. The drugs cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) will be given orally to help you accept your donor's cells.

On the day of your admission you will start to take a drug called Dilantin which is used to help prevent seizures while you receive your chemotherapy drugs. You will also start to take a drug called allopurinol which helps to protect your kidneys as your body works to discharge cells killed off by your chemotherapy and TBI. On the next day, you will then begin your conditioning therapy with a drug called busulfan. This medicine will be given to you by an infusion into your bloodstream through a small tube in the vein of your arm four times per day for four days. After the busulfan treatment, you will receive 4 doses each of two drugs, cyclophosphamide (also known as Cytoxan) and fludarabine, over 2 hours into your vein.

If you are undergoing a pre-transplant conditioning regimen prior to undergoing a cord blood transplant, you will receive a drug called ATG to improve your chances of engraftment and decrease your risk of graft versus host disease. You may receive ATG 3 times during your transplant regimen on days -3 through days -1 in addition to your pre-transplant conditioning therapy. Methylprednisolone will also be given during each dose of ATG to help reduce any reactions during infusion.

Donor Leukocyte Infusions: You will receive DLI from your original transplant donor. This will be given through a vein , usually in your arm. It will be similar to getting a platelet or blood transfusion. You may require more than one DLI. The decision to give you another infusion will be determined by your condition, relapse status, GVHD and how much DLI you were given before. You may need chemotherapy and/or radiation to improve your disease status prior to additional DLI's.

On the day after your admission, you will start receiving radiation therapy (TBI). Radiation will be given to you 2 times a day for 3 days. On the next day, you will then begin your chemotherapy with a drug called etoposide. This medicine will be given to you by an infusion into your bloodstream through a small tube in the vein of your arm for one day. After the etoposide treatment, on the next day you will receive cyclophosphamide (also known as Cytoxan) for 2 days. When you are given cyclophosphamide, you will also be given a medication called MESNA to help protect your bladder from damage. After you have completed the cyclophosphamide you will rest one day without any anti-cancer therapy. This allows your body time to remove and inactivate the chemotherapy. After a day of rest, you will be given your donor's cells.