Cyclosporine does have some side effects including kidney damage, high blood pressure, and on rare occasion can cause reversible neurologic problems. The side effects of Il-2 and Interferon include fever, fluid weight gain, slow count recovery, flu like symptoms, and reversible liver disease. This trial examines whether patients who have achieved a remission with ALL can have a similar syndrome induced using low doses of Cyclosporine with their consolidation and maintenance chemotherapy. The hope of this trial is that an anti-tumor benefit can be achieved without the necessity of a marrow transplant. Another therapy which uses the immune system to try to fight the tumor is donor lymphocyte infusions.
Patients relapsing after an allogeneic marrow transplant have few treatment options.
Several groups have found that transfusion of donor white cells into patients, especially those with relapse chronic myelogenous leukemia, is successful in reinducing a remission in these patients. However, this toxicity is milder than that seen with attempts at second marrow transplants. Currently we are exploring the use of donor lymphocyte infusion in patients who have relapsed after transplant. The dose of lymphocytes given and the schedule is dependent on the disease which has relapsed. Patients with rapidly progressing tumors may first need to be treated with chemotherapy.