View clinical trials related to Breast Neoplasms.
Filter by:RATIONALE: Estrogen can stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. Hormone therapy using either tamoxifen or anastrozole may fight breast cancer by blocking the use of estrogen. It is not yet known whether tamoxifen is more effective than anastrozole in preventing breast cancer after surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying how well adjuvant tamoxifen works compared to anastrozole in treating postmenopausal women who have undergone surgery to remove ductal carcinoma in situ.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and paclitaxel, use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving chemotherapy drugs before surgery may shrink the tumor so that it can be removed during surgery. Giving chemotherapy drugs after surgery may kill any remaining tumor cells. PURPOSE: Pilot trial to study the effectiveness of neoadjuvant or adjuvant epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and paclitaxel in treating women who have stage I, stage II, or stage III breast cancer.
RATIONALE: Surgery to remove lymph nodes in the armpit in patients with sentinel lymph node micrometastases may remove cancer cells that have spread from tumors in the breast. It is not yet known whether surgery to remove the primary tumor is more effective with or without axillary lymph node dissection. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying surgery and axillary lymph node dissection to see how well they work compared to surgery alone in treating women with node-negative breast cancer and sentinel lymph node micrometastases.
This study will examine two subsets of patients with breast cancer metastasis, that is, spreading, to the brain. It will identify genes and proteins that promote metastasis, particularly in women who are found to over-express (have more than other people do) the human epidermal growth factor receptor, ErbB2, also known as HER-2. The molecular and genetic events that permit tumor metastasis are not well understood. There is intense investigation going on into the process in which tumor cells escape the primary local tumor, spread to distant places in the body, and find and create conditions that promote growth in those tissues. Metastasis of tumors such as breast cancer to the brain is a common problem. Tumor cells will be analyzed with the use of microarrays. A microarray is a tool for analyzing gene expression, consisting of a small membrane or glass slide containing samples of many genes arranged in a regular pattern. The goal is to identify a potential molecular signature. It is hoped that there will be discovery of why some patients are more likely than others to develop a brain metastasis, which can have a major negative effect on the quality of life and survival. Female patients 18 years of age with known or evidence by radiology of a breast tumor metastatic to the brain or those who have had a removal of a brain tumor for diagnosis or treatment may be eligible for this study. Participants will undergo the following procedures and tests: - Craniotomy, that is, surgical opening of the skull, and removal of the brain tumor. - Blood specimens taken from a central vein or artery before the operation, throughout as needed, and for several days afterward, to measure blood chemistries, blood count, and so forth. - Physical examination and imaging of the central nervous system before and after surgery. - Urine or serum, or both, pregnancy test of women of childbearing potential. Patients will also undergo blood tests at 3-month intervals after surgery for up to 5 years. The purpose is to determine if there are tumor cells in the blood, which may explain how they reached the brain.
This study will examine a non-invasive method to assess vasculature, that is, the development of a blood supply necessary to the growth of tumors. The hope is to identify the way that genes are expressed within the tumor itself, from areas shown as low flow versus those shown as high flow on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). Most patients with solid epithelial cancers, those that develop on free surfaces or linings inside the body, die because of the distant spread of tumors-metastasis. After that spread, a cure is more difficult than if the tumors were detected early or locally. Tumors develop a new supply of blood. Traditional anticancer therapies have had the goal of causing a decline in the tumor. Yet by focusing on the tumor's blood supply, microscopic differences between tumors and clonal differences within tumors may be avoided. Doing so may overcome tumor resistance to treatment and may result in treatments that can be more universally applied across tumor types. Female patients 18 years of age enrolled in the protocol Analysis of Brain Metastasis in Patients with Breast Cancer, with and without Over-Expression of HER-2, who will undergo an MRI scan immediately before surgery will be invited to participate in this study. Patients seen in the oncology outpatient clinic of the NIH Clinical Center or by referral from outside physicians may be eligible for this study. Participants will undergo DCE-MRI immediately before the craniotomy-the surgery scheduled-in conjunction with other clinically indicated MRI. The preoperative MRI will take about 30 minutes, and the DCE-MRI will take no more than 15 minutes. During the MRI, patients will lie still on a table that can slide in and out of a metal cylinder surrounded by a strong magnetic field. They may be asked to lie still for up to 5 minutes at a time. As the scanner takes pictures, there will be loud knocking noises, and the patients will wear earplugs to muffle the sound. Patients will be able to communicate with the MRI staff at all times during the scan and may ask to be moved out of the machine at any time. During part of the MRI, patients will receive a contrast agent, one that is gadolinium-based, into a vein. This agent changes the relative brightness or contrast on the MRI image under some conditions. Before that agent is used, patients will be asked about any previous allergic reactions to gadolinium-based contrast agents.
Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of neoadjuvant tipifarnib combined with docetaxel and capecitabine in treating patients who have locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors or stage IIIA or stage IIIB breast cancer. Tipifarnib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for cancer cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel and capecitabine, use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining tipifarnib with docetaxel and capecitabine may kill more tumor cells.
This randomized phase I trial is studying the side effects of celecoxib in treating postmenopausal women with invasive breast cancer who are scheduled to undergo surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Celecoxib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for tumor cell growth.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy such as edotecarin use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well edotecarin works in treating women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer that has not responded to previous chemotherapy.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Lonafarnib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for their growth. Monoclonal antibodies, such as trastuzumab, can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining lonafarnib and trastuzumab with paclitaxel may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of lonafarnib when given together with trastuzumab and paclitaxel in treating patients with HER2/neu-overexpressing stage IIIB, stage IIIC, or stage IV breast cancer.
RATIONALE: Vaccines may make the body build an immune response to kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of HER-2 protein vaccine in treating women who have breast cancer.