This study aims to enroll 58 pre-adolescent (\<13 years) pediatric participants with sickle cell disease (SCD) who have a pre-adolescent sibling bone marrow donor. All participants will go through a pre-transplant evaluation to find out if there are health problems that will keep them from being able to receive the transplant. It usually takes 2 to 3 months to complete the pre-transplant evaluation and make the arrangements for the transplant. Once they are found to be eligible for transplant, participants will be admitted to the hospital and will start transplant conditioning. Conditioning is the chemotherapy and other medicines given to prepare them to receive donor cells. It prevents the immune system from rejecting donor cells. Conditioning will start 21 days before transplant. Once they complete conditioning, participants will receive the bone marrow transplant. After the transplant, participants will stay in the hospital for 4-6 weeks. After they leave the hospital, participants will be followed closely in the clinic. Outpatient treatment and frequent clinic visits usually last 6 to 12 months. Routine medical care includes at least a yearly examination for many years after transplant by doctors and nurses familiar with sickle cell disease and transplant. The researchers will collect and study information about participants for 2 years after transplant.
The use of HLA matched sibling donor (MSD) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for sickle cell disease (SCD) is evolving. Because of the low risk for graft versus host disease (GVHD) associated with younger age, HSCT is increasingly being performed prior to adolescence. The use of less gonadotoxic reduced intensity regimens (RIC) are more commonly be utilized to lessen the risk for infertility. Finally, with the recognition that most children, even those who have asymptomatic to relatively mild courses, will develop debilitating morbidities as adults and ultimately suffer an early death, HSCT is being offered to children across a wider spectrum of SCD severity. Long reserved for severely affected children, HSCT is being performed for a growing number of less severely affected children, as well as children without disease manifestation. This trial is designed to prospectively assess HSCT under these conditions. Eligibility will be limited to children less than 13 years of age who have an HLA MSD. A RIC regimen - fludarabine, alemtuzumab and melphalan (FAM) - will be employed. Finally, SCD severity criteria will be broadened to include less severely affected children as well as those who are severely affected. This study has the following two specific aims: Specific Aim #1: To prospectively assess the safety and efficacy of HSCT using FAM conditioning in children with SCD of varying severity who are under 13 years of age. Specific Aim #2: To address current gaps in our understanding of the long-term effects of HSCT in children with SCD, by longitudinally assessing sickle cell related cerebrovascular disease, sickle cell related nephropathy and health related quality of life.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
43
Alemtuzumab will be administered by either subcutaneous (SQ) injection or IV. A test dose of alemtuzumab, 3 mg, is administered on the first day. If the test dose is tolerated, administration of three treatment doses will begin within 24 hours. The three treatment doses will be administered on consecutive days. On the first day, 10 mg/m2 will be given, 15 mg/m\^2 the second and 20 mg/m\^2 the third. Alemtuzumab will be started between Days -22 and -20, but all doses (test dose and three treatment doses) should be completed by Day -18.
Fludarabine will be administered at 30 mg/m\^2 IV daily for five days (Days -7 to -3).
Melphalan will be administered at 140 mg/m\^2 IV on Day -3 following fludarabine administration.
Children's Hospital of Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Phoenix Children's
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Yale University, Yale Cancer Center
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Children's National Hospital
Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States
Children's Healthcare of Altanta
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Riley Children's Health/Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Washington University School of Medicine
St Louis, Missouri, United States
Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack, New Jersey, United States
...and 5 more locations
Immune Suppression-free, Rejection-free Survival
Immune suppression-free, rejection-free survival is defined as rejection-free survival off all systemic immunosuppressive agents. Participants who are off systemic immune suppression by 2-years post-transplant will be considered as being immune suppression free.
Time frame: Year 2
Regimen-Related Toxicity
Regimen-Related Toxicity (RRT) will be scored according to the Bearman scale. Major RRT, defined as grade 4 (causing death) in any organ system or grade 3 for pulmonary, cardiac, renal, oral mucosal, neurologic or hepatic, will be recorded. The assessment for RRT will be carried out on day 42 post-transplant.
Time frame: Day 42
Number of Neurological Complications
Neurological complications will be defined as any one of the following: seizures, intracranial hemorrhage, infarctive stroke (clinical or sub-clinical), and/or encephalopathy, including posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES).
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Neutrophil Recovery
Neutrophil recovery is defined as the first of 3 consecutive days following the nadir that the absolute neutrophil count is at least 500/µl.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Platelet Recovery
Platelet recovery is defined as the first day that the platelet count is at least 50,000/µl without a transfusion in the preceding 7 days.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Graft Rejection
This endpoint will be met when donor engraftment fails to occur as evidenced by lack of neutrophil recovery or donor chimerism (5% donor derived cells on chimerism testing; for sorted testing, at least 5% of both lineages must be donor derived). This endpoint will also be met when there is initial donor engraftment but donor chimerism is lost.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Sustained Donor Engraftment
This endpoint will be met when the patient is off all immune suppression (or is still on immune suppression as treatment for GVHD) by one year, has normal marrow function, has no acute signs of SCD and has at least 5% donor derived cells on chimerism testing (for sorted testing at least 5% of both lineages must be donor derived). This endpoint will be assessed through 2 years.
Time frame: Year 2
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Viremia
CMV Viremia will be defined as the occurrence of a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test prior to day 180.
Time frame: Day 180
CMV Invasive Disease
CMV invasive disease will be defined in accordance with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Post-transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder
Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder will be defined in accordance with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Other Infections
Other Infections will be defined in accordance with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Early Onset Acute GVHD
Early onset (before day 100) acute GVHD (including all grades, and stratified by grades) will be assessed according to the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures using the NIH consensus criteria.
Time frame: Day 100
Late Onset Acute GVHD
Late onset (after day 100) acute GVHD will be assessed according to the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures using the NIH consensus criteria.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Chronic GVHD
Chronic GVHD will be assessed according to the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures using the NIH consensus criteria.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Rejection-free Survival
Rejection-free survival is defined as survival with sustained engraftment.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
Overall Survival
Overall survival is defined as survival with or without rejection.
Time frame: Up to Year 2
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