View clinical trials related to Esophageal Cancer.
Filter by:RATIONALE: Placing a stent in the esophagus may lessen swallowing difficulties and improve quality of life in patients with malignant dysphagia caused by esophageal cancer or gastroesophageal junction cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying self-expanding plastic stents to see how well they work compared with self-expanding metal stents in treating patients with malignant dysphagia caused by esophageal cancer or gastroesophageal junction cancer.
To study the safety and feasibility of stereotactic radiation dose escalation following neoadjuvant chemotherapy with concurrent conventionally fractionated radiation, by evaluating the acute and late toxicity of treatment.
RATIONALE: Stop-smoking plans, including counseling and nicotine replacement therapy, may help smokers quit smoking. It is not yet known whether counseling and the nicotine lozenge is more effective than counseling and the nicotine patch in helping adult smokers quit smoking. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying counseling and the nicotine lozenge to see how well they work compared to counseling and the nicotine patch in helping smokers quit smoking.
RATIONALE: Chemoprevention is the use of certain drugs to keep cancer from forming, growing, or coming back. The use of esomeprazole and aspirin may prevent esophageal cancer in patients with Barrett's metaplasia. It is not yet known whether esomeprazole is more effective with or without aspirin in preventing esophageal cancer in patients with Barrett's metaplasia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying esomeprazole with or without aspirin to compare how well they work in preventing esophageal cancer in patients with Barrett's metaplasia.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as irinotecan and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some find tumor cells and kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Others interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Bevacizumab may also stop the growth of esophageal cancer by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving chemotherapy and monoclonal antibody therapy together with radiation therapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Giving bevacizumab after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving irinotecan, cisplatin, and bevacizumab together with radiation therapy followed by surgery and bevacizumab works in treating patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer.
The purpose of this clinical research study is to learn if BMS-181339 can shrink or slow the growth of the cancer in patients with advanced or recurrent esophageal cancer. The safety of this treatment will also be studied.
Two large, nutritional intervention trials were conducted in Linxian, China between 1985-1991. These trials tested the effect of multiple vitamins and minerals in the prevention of esophageal cancer in a population with the highest known rate for this disease in the world. Results from the trials showed that Beta-carotene + Vitamin E + selenium reduced total mortality, total cancer mortality, and stomach cancer incidence and mortality. Multivitamins/minerals also showed reduction in premalignant lesions. Preliminary follow-up data obtained for the time period after cessation of intervention in 1991 suggests that the observed benefit for total and cancer mortality is reduced but that the benefit for stomach cancer remains. The objectives of the follow-up study are: (1) to continue to determine cancer incidence and all causes of mortality in trial participants after intervention to permit examination of potential effects of the interventions on total and cause-specific mortality and cancer incidence in the post-intervention period; (2) to conduct a cross-sectional nutritional survey in a subsample of living trial participants to evaluate their nutritional status, asses the validity of dietary questionnaires, and relate neurologic status to vitamin B12 plasma levels; (3) to collect a blood sample from all living trial participants to permit further etiologic investigations of genetic and environmental hypotheses; and (4) to perform nested case-control studies of selected genetic and environmental hypotheses. To accomplish the objectives of the follow-up study, we will: (1) determine updated vital status and cancer status data on all trial participants via monthly checks of village doctor records and quarterly checks of the Linxian Cancer Registry; conduct a Vital/Cancer Status Interview Survey among all (n-34,000 trial participants (or their surrogates); identify, collect, and store all available diagnostic materials for trial participants identified as having developed cancer or died with cancer during the follow-up period; (2) conduct a Nutritional Survey on a subsample (n-1000) of living trial participants that will include (a) a physical exam and brief medical history, (b) a neurologic history, (c) a cognitive function exam, (d) a hair/mouth skin exam, (e) a neurological exam, (f) a nutritional questionnaire, and (g) collection of a blood sample for hematologic/biochemical analyses; (3) conduct a Blood Collection Survey of all living trial participants (n-23,000) to obtain (a) a physical exam and brief medical history and (b) a single 10-ml blood sample for separation and preservation as WBCs (both viable and nonviable), RBCs, and plasma for genetic (e.g., xenobiotic polymorphisms) and environmental (e.g., plasma ascorbic acid) hypothesis testing; and (4) perform Nested Case-Control Studies of selected genetic and environmental hypothesis related to the etiology and prevention of esophageal cancer and stroke. These will be done using serum from the new cancer and stroke cases (-2500) and controls (-2500) previously identified from 1991-1996, as well as using new cancer and stroke cases and controls for the period 1996-2004 (-9000). The followup for endpoints will continue monthly for an additional 5 years (through the year 2003). The Nutritional Survey and Blood Collection Survey will be conducted in the spring of 1999. The Nested Case-Control studies will be performed annually beginning in 2000, and the Vital/Cancer Interview Survey will be conducted in the Spring of 2001.
The overall goal of this project is to determine whether polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are contributing to the high rate of esophageal cancer in Linxian, China. Esophageal cancer is one of the most fatal cancers worldwide with Linxian, China having one of the highest rates in the world. In the United States esophageal cancer causes approximately 10,000 deaths each year. It is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in black males and the eighth leading cause of cancer death in men of all races. Although several recent studies have identified some of the molecular changes associated with esophageal cancer, its prevention and treatment within high risk groups continues to be limited by our inability to identify specific etiologic agents. Human exposure to PAHs, including benzo [a]pyrene (B[a]P), is associated with an increased rate of skin, lung, and upper GI tumors and also with an increased mortality from causes related to atherosclerosis. Evidence, including the preliminary results from histologic and food analysis pilot studies, supports the idea that this region's high rate of esophageal cancer may be related to long-term, high-level exposure to PAHs via inhalation of air-borne pollution and ingestion of food cooked with soft coal. Thus, to assess the association of PAHs with the high rate of esophageal cancer in Linxian, China, we plan to analyze samples of food for the presence of PAHs, samples of blood for Hb adducts (a marker of long-term PAH exposure), samples of urine for 1-OH-Pyrene glucuronide (a maker of short-term PAH exposure), and samples of coal for characteristics that may be associated with increased carcinogenesis. We will also administer environmental questionnaires that will include questions about the type of fuel used for cooking and heating, the location and type of stove and/or heating unit (i.e., vented versus unvented), and time spent cooking.
The overall goal of this project is to understand the role of genetics in the etiology and prevention of upper gastrointestinal cancer, primarily esophageal cancer, but also cancers of the gastric cardia and body. Esophageal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in China and the seventh most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Evidence suggests that genetic factors may play an important role in the etiology of this malignancy, and identification of esophageal cancer susceptibility genes may allow screening of populations to identify persons at particularly high risk, who could then be targeted for prevention strategies (e.g., chemoprevention or early detection). There are several lines of evidence supporting the idea that there is genetic susceptibility for esophageal cancer in high-risk Chinese populations, including an association of positive family history with increased risk, evidence of familial aggregation of cases, and segregation analyses suggesting Mendelian inheritance in high-risk families. Several different but complementary approaches will be used to identify esophageal cancer susceptibility genes. (Because of etiologic similarities and for logistic reasons, parallel efforts will be made with gastric cardia and body cancers.) First, a tumor/non-tumor study will be conducted in which a biological specimen bank consisting of samples (tumor, non-tumor, venous blood, finger stick blood, and buccal cells) from several hundred cases of esophageal, gastric cardia, and gastric body cancers will be developed in Taiyuan that can be used for the identification of esophageal (as well as gastric cardia and body) cancer susceptibility genes and potential early genetic markers of these cancers. High-density genome-wide scans with microsatellite markers will be used in a limited number of cases to identify potential hot spots followed by further testing of these hot spots and other candidate markers in additional tumor/non-tumor samples. Premalignant morphologic lesions will also be examined. Second, blood samples for DNA will be collected from approximately 100 healthy individuals from high-risk (Yangcheng County) and low-risk (Beijing) areas to examine potential population differences in polymorphisms for selected genomic markers. Third, a large case-control study with cancers of the esophagus, cardia, and body of stomach will be conducted to evaluate polymorphisms in the candidate markers identified in other components of this project, and to evaluate gene-environment interactions. Finally, a family study will be conducted to evaluate linkage of candidate markers with cancer in families having 2 or more cases with cancers of the esophagus, cardia, and/or body of stomach.
This study, sponsored jointly by the National Cancer Institute and the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, will explore the causes of cancers of the stomach and esophagus (the tube that runs between the mouth and the stomach) in Northern Iran. This is a unique area of study for the following reasons: - Some of the highest rates of esophageal cancer in the world have been reported in northeastern Iran 109 cases per 100,000 men and 175 cases per 100,000 women each year about 40 times higher than the rates of this cancer in the United States. - In this area of Iran, unlike most areas of the world, the disease affects more women than men. - Within 300 miles along the southern border of the Caspian Sea, the rates fall to 10 cases per 100,000 people per year. The high rates of disease in this area, the unique geographic distribution of cases, and the exceptionally high rate in women make Northern Iran a promising site for studying esophageal and stomach cancers. Patients 30 years of age and older who are referred to the upper gastrointestinal disease Atrak Clinic in Gonbad, Golestan Province, Iran, with suspected esophageal cancer may be eligible for this study. In addition, control subjects 30 years of age and older with certain specified diseases will be recruited from patients referred to four hospitals in Gonbad and to the Taleghani Clinic. After giving informed consent, all participants will undergo the following procedures: - Interviews, including questions about age, ethnicity, education, and other demographic data; habits, such as tobacco, opium, and alcohol consumption; personal and family medical history; diet, with special attention to food preservation, cooking methods, and drinking water; physical activity; occupational and residential history; body measurements; signs and symptoms of upper gastrointestinal disease; oral hygiene; animal contact; transfusion history; and family socioeconomic status. - Blood draw (15 milliliters, or 1 tablespoon) for genetic and chemical testing for markers that may predict who gets the disease. - Hair and nail sampling to identify minerals or compounds whose exposure may be related to esophageal cancer. - Endoscopy to evaluate the health of the esophagus and stomach. This test will be performed on all case patients and on control participants who give their permission. Before the examination, the subject will swallow a liquid that numbs the throat and may be given a medicine through a vein to promote drowsiness. The subject will then swallow a tube (endoscope) through which the doctor can look at the esophagus and stomach and take samples of tissue to look for disease. The tissue samples will be examined microscopically and will then be stored for possible future genetic or other testing related to diagnosing or determining the risk of esophageal cancer.