View clinical trials related to Ependymomas.
Filter by:Background: Ependymomas are rare tumors that arise from the ependyma. That is a tissue of the central nervous system. They can develop in the brain or the spine. They are usually treated with surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. Researchers want to see if the new drug marizomib can help people with a certain kind of ependymoma. Objective: To see if marizomib stops tumor growth and prolongs the time that the tumor is controlled. Eligibility: Adults age 18 and older who have been diagnosed with ependymomas and have already been treated with standard therapies Design: Participants will be screened with the following tests or recent results from similar tests: - Medical history - Physical exam - Neurological assessment - Electrocardiogram (EKG) to evaluate the heart - Review of symptoms and ability to perform normal activities - Computed tomographic scan (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to produce an image of the brain or spine. - Blood and urine tests - Tests of tumor samples. Participants may have to have new tumor samples taken. Participants will get the study drug in cycles. Each cycle is 4 weeks. Participants will have up to 24 cycles. Participants will get the study drug through a small plastic tube in a vein on days 1, 8, and 15 of each cycle. During each cycle, some screening tests will be repeated. Participants will answer questions about their general well-being and functioning. About 4 5 weeks after finishing the study drug, participants will have a follow-up visit. They will answer questions about their health, get a physical and a neurological exam, and have blood tests. They may have an MRI or CT scan. ...
Background: - An important new area of brain tumor research is the development of tumor and brain stem cell lines. Successful growth of these cell lines requires obtaining large volumes of fresh tumor and brain tissue, which is best accomplished by harvesting whole brains from recently deceased patients. These cell lines will help researchers understand how these tumors develop and will also help identify new targets for treatment. Researchers are interested in conducting a pilot study of planned inpatient hospice care with timely brain tumor tissue harvest at the time of death. Objectives: - To provide high-quality end of life inpatient hospice care for patients with untreatable brain tumors. - To procure brain and tumor tissue shortly after time of death in order to derive viable tumor and neural stem cell lines for research purposes. Eligibility: - Individuals at least 18 years of age who have an untreatable primary brain or central nervous system tumor, are able to give informed consent (either their own or through a designated power of attorney), and have agreed to a Do Not Resuscitate order and Consent for Autopsy as part of the end-of-life care plan. - HIV-positive individuals or those suspected of having infectious cerebritis are not eligible because of the potential for contamination of brain tissue. Design: - Participants will be enrolled in inpatient hospice admission to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center either from home or from an outside hospital once a study investigator estimates an expected survival of less than 2 weeks. - Participants will receive palliative care at the Clinical Center. Care will be tailored to each participant depending on the information provided in the individual's end-of-life care plan. - Supportive medications such as antiseizure medications and pain relievers will be administered as appropriate. - At the time of death, researchers will follow standard procedures for notifying next of kin and will collect brain tissue and tumor samples from the deceased. - Following tissue collection, the deceased will be released for autopsy and funeral procedures.
The purpose of this study is to improve overall survival while maintaining a good quality of life in pediatric patients with refractory or recurrent brain tumors (medulloblastomas, supratentorial PNETs, ependymomas WHO grade II and III). Response to different chemotherapy options (intravenous versus oral chemotherapy, intraventricular chemotherapy) as part of a multimodal therapy will be assessed. Progression-free, overall survival and toxicity will be evaluated additionally.
Brain tumours are the commonest solid tumours in children and the second most common neoplasms overall in this patient population. Radiotherapy plays an important part in the management in a majority of these tumours. While the cure rates of these tumours, especially the benign and low grade ones are quite encouraging, the treatment itself may lead to some late sequelae, which could have significant implications in the quality of life in these long-term survivors. Stereotactic conformal radiotherapy (SCRT) is a modern high-precision radiotherapy technique, which reduces the volume of normal brain irradiated and has the capability to minimise the doses to critical structures. The present study is designed to prospectively estimate the incidence and severity of neuropsychological, cognitive and neuroendocrine dysfunction following radiotherapy delivered with conventional and stereotactic techniques and would be one of the most comprehensive studies providing very important longitudinal and reliable data regarding these sequelae. The study involving 200 patients would be to the best of our knowledge not only the largest ever study conducted so far but also the only randomised trial assessing these sequelae in patients receiving focal brain irradiation. The study also examines whether the physical advantages of modern technological progress translate in clinical benefit. This could have significant implications in the radiotherapeutic management of children and young adults with brain tumours. The study is unique in design in terms of evaluating the efficacy of SCRT with respect to conventional radiotherapy in terms of long term tumour control and treatment related complications.