View clinical trials related to Breast Cancer.
Filter by:RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Currently patients with breast cancer are treated with one of several very similar combinations of drugs. Analysis of biomarkers in tumor tissue may help doctors predict how well patients with breast cancer will respond to treatment and help doctors choose the best drug regimen to treat each patient. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying giving different regimens of chemotherapy and comparing how well they work in treating women with large operable or locally advanced or inflammatory breast cancer. This study is also looking at whether analyzing a specific biomarker (p53) in tumor tissue may help doctors predict how well patients will respond to treatment and help doctors choose the best drug to treat each patient.
This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the drug bevacizumab, in combination with doxorubicin and docetaxel, in improving survival of patients with inflammatory breast cancer or locally advanced breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is an aggressive form of locally advanced breast cancer that often causes a red, swollen, tender breast and is associated with a poor prognosis. Bevacizumab blocks the growth of new blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to tumors, and therefore, may kill cancer cells or stop their growth. Doxorubicin and docetaxel are approved drugs for treating breast cancer. Patients 18 years of age or older with stage inflammatory breast cancer who have not been treated with chemotherapy or radiation therapy may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history and physical examination, blood and urine tests, chest x-ray, electrocardiogram, and MUGA scan or echocardiography (see below). A mammogram of both breasts, dynamic MRI imaging of the affected breast, computed tomography (CT) of the head, chest, abdomen and pelvis, and a bone scan are done to determine the extent of disease. Participants undergo the following procedures at various intervals before, during and/or after completing chemotherapy: Tumor and skin biopsies to study the effects of bevacizumab on tumor blood vessels, tumor growth, and the biology of inflammatory breast cancer. A small piece of tumor tissue and a small piece of skin from the affected breast are removed under local anesthesia for microscopic study. Dynamic MRI to examine changes in the blood vessels and breast cancer following bevacizumab treatment. This test involves injecting a contrast liquid into a vein before scanning. A standard MRI scan is done before the dynamic MRI. Blood tests are done to 1) study clot formation and breakdown, 2) measure levels of VEGF (a substance produced by breast cancer cells) and VCAM-1 (a substance produced by cells lining blood vessel walls), and 3) check blood counts and liver and kidney function. MUGA (a nuclear medicine scan that checks the heart's pumping ability) or echocardiogram (ultrasound scan of the heart to evaluate heart function. Blood pressure monitoring Urine tests CT scans and x-rays to evaluate disease before and after treatment. Patients will have a central venous line (plastic tube) placed into a major vein in the chest before beginning treatment. The line stays in the body during the entire treatment period and is used to give chemotherapy and other medications, if needed, and to draw blood samples. All treatment is given on a single day every 3 weeks. This constitutes one treatment cycle. Cycle 1 consists of bevacizumab alone; cycles 2 through 7 consist of bevacizumab with doxorubicin and docetaxel. During each cycle, patients also receive injections under the skin of G-CSF, a drug that raises the number of infection-fighting white blood cells, which are often decreased as a side effect of chemotherapy. After cycle 7, patients may require surgery and radiation or radiation alone. After radiation treatment, bevacizumab is re-started, given alone every 3 weeks for an additional eight cycles. Patients whose tumors are positive for estrogen or progesterone receptors will be advised to take the drug tamoxifen or anastrozole for 5 years to decrease the chances of disease recurrence. This would begin with cycle 8.
RATIONALE: Estrogen can stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. Hormone therapy using exemestane may fight breast cancer by reducing the production of estrogen by the tumor cells. It is not yet known whether exemestane is effective in preventing the recurrence of breast cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to study the effectiveness of exemestane in preventing cancer recurrence in postmenopausal women who have resected stage I, stage II, or stage IIIA breast cancer and have completed 5 years of tamoxifen.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known whether combination chemotherapy is more effective with or without filgrastim in treating breast cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combining doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and paclitaxel with or without filgrastim in treating women who have inflammatory or locally advanced breast cancer.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Colony-stimulating factors such as filgrastim may increase the number of immune cells found in bone marrow or peripheral blood and may help a person's immune system recover from the side effects of chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining docetaxel, vinorelbine, and filgrastim in treating women who have stage IV breast cancer.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy in treating women who have breast cancer that is metastatic or cannot be treated with surgery.
RATIONALE: Estrogen can stimulate the growth of cancer cells. Letrozole may fight breast cancer by reducing the production of estrogen. PURPOSE: Phase IV trial to study the effectiveness of letrozole in treating postmenopausal women who have metastatic breast cancer that has been previously treated with tamoxifen.
RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells and may be a less invasive treatment and cause fewer side effects than complete axillary lymph node dissection. It is not yet known which treatment is more effective for invasive breast cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of complete axillary lymph node dissection with that of axillary radiation therapy in treating women who have invasive breast cancer.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Colony-stimulating factors such as filgrastim may increase the number of immune cells found in bone marrow or peripheral blood and may help a person's immune system recover from the side effects of chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy plus filgrastim in treating patients who have advanced solid tumors.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies such as trastuzumab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of vinorelbine plus trastuzumab in treating patients who have refractory or metastatic breast cancer.