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Adding Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant for Treating Hematologic Cancers

Trial Status: active

This early phase I trial tests the safety and effectiveness of adding hyperbaric oxygen therapy to standard hematopoietic stem cell transplant in treating patients with hematologic (blood) cancers. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing 100% pure oxygen while in a sealed chamber that has been pressurized at two and a half times the normal atmospheric pressure. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is thought to work through the decrease of a hormone called erythropoietin. This hormone, while important in the body, is thought to decrease the speed at which cells in the transplant move into the bone marrow. Undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the time of hematopoietic stem cell transplant may decrease erythropoietin, which may shorten the period of neutropenia (low white blood cell count) after transplant, and may help a patient's white blood cells recover faster.