Barriers to cancer clinical trial accrual can be prospectively identified and addressed in the development and conduct of future studies, which may potentially lead to more robust clinical trials enrollment. Investigation of patient perceptions regarding the clinical trials process and the role of third party-payers is warranted.

Non-hemolytic transfusion reactions (NHTR) occur in up to 30% of patients receiving platelet transfusions. Premedication with acetaminophen and diphenhydramine is a common strategy to prevent NHTR, but its efficacy has not been studied. In this prospective trial, transfusions in patients receiving pre-storage leukocyte-reduced single-donor apheresis platelets (SDP) were randomized to premedication with either acetaminophen 650 mg PO and diphenhydramine 25 mg IV, or placebo. Fifty-one patients received 98 transfusions. Thirteen patients had 15 NHTR: 15.4% (8/52) in the treatment arm and 15.2% (7/46) in the placebo arm. Premedication prior to transfusion of pre-storage leukocyte reduced SDP does not significantly lower the incidence of NHTR as compared to placebo.

We describe outcomes after allogeneic transplantation in 34 patients with dyskeratosis congenita transplanted between 1981 and 2009. The median age at transplantation was 13 years (range 2 – 35). Approximately 50% of transplants were from related donors. Bone marrow was the predominant source of stem cells (n=24/34). The day-28 probability of neutrophil recovery was 73% and the day-100 platelet recovery was 72%. The day-100 probability of grade II-IV acute GVHD and the 3-year probability of chronic GVHD were 24% and 37%, respectively. The 10-year probability of survival was 30%; 14 patients were alive at last follow-up. Ten deaths occurred within 4 months from transplantation due to graft failure (n=6) or other transplant-related complications; 9 of these patients had been transplanted from mismatched related or from unrelated donors. Another 10 deaths occurred after 4 months; 6 of them occurred more than 5 years from transplantation, 4 of these were attributed to pulmonary failure. Transplant-regimen intensity and transplants from mismatched related or unrelated donors were associated with early mortality. Transplantation of grafts from HLA-matched siblings with cyclophosphamide-containing non-radiation regimens was associated with early low toxicity. Late mortality was attributed mainly to pulmonary complications and likely related to the underlying disease.

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The number of circulating granulocytic stem cells (CFU-C) was determined by the in vitro methylcellulose technique in cancer patients receiving intermittent chemotherapy. In 17 patients studied prior to therapy, the median CFU-C concentration per 2 X 10(5) mononuclear cells plated was six, compared to a posttreatment median of 23 in 21 patients (p less than 0.001). Large numbers of stem cells were obtained by leukopheresis and cryopreserved with a 99.5% median CFU-C recovery. Cyclical changes in the concentration of stem cells with maximum values of 20 times baseline were demonstrated in a patient studied at weekly intervals during multiple courses of treatment. It was estimated that, at peak CFU-C concentrations, a quantity of stem cells equivalent to that present in a bulk bone marrow harvest could be obtained from the peripheral blood by a 17-liter pheresis. These results suggest that it may be practical to obtain an adequate number of stem cells from the peripheral blood to study autologous stem cell infusion as a means of averting myelosuppression in patients receiving intensive chemotherapy.