View clinical trials related to Neoplasm Metastasis.
Filter by:The suppression of IGF-I and growth hormone may significantly alter the pathobiology of osteosarcoma. SMS 201-955 pa LAR is a long acting analog of Somatostatin which inhibits the pituitary release of growth hormone, reducing levels of circulating IGF-I . Additional data on tamoxifen usage has also demonstrated a reduction in circulating IGF-I levels. The degree of suppression of IGF-I and growth hormone will be determined at two dose levels of SMS 291-955 pa LAR. Tamoxifen will be added to two of the cohorts to determine if the additive effects of tamoxifen and SMS 201-955 pa LAR will lead to additional reduction of circulating IGF-I and growth hormone levels. Arginine-stimulated GH tests to assess levels of growth hormone in the blood will be administered pre-treatment evaluation up to three times, one time on weeks 2, 8, 16, 28, 40, 52, and one month post last dose of SMS 201-955 pa LAR. The four cohorts for this study will receive 60 or 90 mg SMS 201-955 pa LAR injectable every four weeks for up to 52 weeks. Two of the cohorts will receive 10 mg Tamoxifen on a daily basis.
Tumors of the spine can be described as primary, meaning that the tumor originated from cells normally found in the spine, or metastatic, cells from another area of the body that have spread to the spine. Metastatic tumors are more common than primary tumors. Tumors of the spine can press against the spinal cord and interfere with information traveling down from the brain to the nerves of the spinal cord. As a result, patients with spinal tumors can suffer from loss of movement and sensation within areas of the body below the tumor. In addition, tumors of the spine are typically painful conditions. Presently, the treatment of choice for spinal tumors is radiation therapy. However, many tumors of the spine become resistant to radiation therapy. In addition, because the spinal cord is often so close to the tumor it can be damaged by the radiation. Absolute (100%) ethanol is commonly known as "alcohol". It is the same kind of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. When pure alcohol is injected directly into a tumor it can destroy cells and blood vessels. Because of this feature, researchers would like to test the effectiveness of alcohol in treating patients with spinal tumors. Researchers believe that intratumoral ethanol injection is a treatment worth studying more closely because it is minimally invasive, has been proven to be an effective treatment for other types of metastatic tumors, can be used repeatedly, and does not interfere with other treatments such as surgery. In addition to testing the effectiveness of intratumoral ethanol injection, this study will attempt to determine the causes of pain associated with spinal tumors.
Malignant brain tumors are responsible for a significant amount of deaths in children and adults. Even with advances in surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, many patients diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor survive only months to weeks. In an attempt to improve the prognosis for these patients, researchers have developed a new approach to brain tumor therapy. This approach makes use of DNA technology to transfer genes sensitive to therapy into the cells of the tumor. Infections with the herpes simplex virus can cause cold sores in the area of the mouth. A drug called ganciclovir (Cytovene) can kill the virus. Ganciclovir is effective because the herpes virus contains a gene (Herpes-Thymidine Kinase TK gene) that is sensitive to the drug. Researchers have been able to separate this gene from the virus. Using DNA technology, researchers hope to transfer and implant the TK gene into tumor cells making them sensitive to ganciclovir. In theory, giving patients ganciclovir will kill all tumor cells that have the TK gene incorporated into them.
The clinical study entitled "A Phase I Study of Infusional Chemotherapy with the P-glycoprotein Antagonist PSC 833" seeks to determine the maximum tolerated dose for a proposed P-glycoprotein antagonist, PSC 833. PSC 833 is a cyclosporine analogue which is purportedly non-nephrotoxic and non-immunosuppressive. It has been shown in in-vitro studies to enhance chemosensitivity as well as cyclosporine and to be far better at increasing intracellular drug accumulation than the concentrations of verapamil which are clinically achievable. The purpose of this study is to define the maximum tolerated dose in combination with vinblastine, and to determine how the drug affects the pharmacokinetics of vinblastine. PSC 833 will most likely reduce the clearance of vinblastine, as reported for the parent compound, cyclosporine. This effect will increase the area under the curve (AUC) of vinblastine, may increase toxicity, and requires that the escalation scheme for PSC 833 be a conservative one. Initially, a 120 hour infusion of vinblastine will be given alone. Then 8 days of PSC 833 will follow to allow monitoring of adverse effects of PSC 833 alone. This first cycle of vinblastine will be given in the absence of PSC 833; in second and subsequent cycles both agents will be combined. Escalation of the PSC 833 will continue until a target concentration is reached, or until the maximum tolerated dose is reached. Clinical responses will be monitored in order to provide the best possible medical care to our patients.
This is a phase I/II study of interleukin-1, G-CSF and high dose ICE chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplant in patients with relapsed breast, testicular and lymphoid cancers. The initial goal of this study was to define the toxicity of interleukin-1 administered for 7 days prior to ICE chemotherapy. A total of 22 patients have been treated with IL-1 and ICE and results showed a more rapid engraftment (4.5 days) with IL-1. A second cohort of 18 patients also received G-CSF and engraftment was further shortened in some subgroups. Overall, the median time to engraftment was 16 days with both IL-1 and G-CSF. Accrual will continue to further define the toxicity and efficacy of this regimen.
This is a phase I study to determine the maximal tolerated dose of IL-3 given alone or sequentially with GM-CSF following FLAC chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer patients.
Patients with untreated clinical stage II breast cancer are eligible. An excisional biopsy of the primary tumor is acceptable, but without definitive local therapy or prior chemotherapy. Histologic confirmation of invasive carcinoma is required. Patients are prospectively randomized to receive five 21-day cycles of dose-intense (5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, leucovorin, cytoxan, granuloctye-colony stimulating factor [FLAC/G-CSF]) chemotherapy either before (preoperative) or after (postoperative) local therapy. Chemotherapy is given as an outpatient. For patients receiving preoperative chemotherapy, local therapy (modified radical mastectomy, or breast segmentectomy/axillary dissection/breast radiotherapy according to patient preference) is performed 3-4 weeks after last chemotherapy. For patients receiving postoperative chemotherapy, chemotherapy will begin 2-3 weeks after local therapy. Immediate reconstruction for mastectomy is acceptable. Upon completion of local therapy and chemotherapy in either treatment group, all estrogen receptor positive patients receive tamoxifen for 5 years. Follow-up consists of history and physical examination each 3 months for first 3 years, each six months for years 4 and 5, and yearly thereafter. Mammogram, bone scan, chest x-ray and blood work are performed yearly.
This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy of high dose melphalan and autologous bone marrow transplantation given as consolidation therapy to patients with inflammatory or metastatic carcinoma of the breast in complete remission. All patients entered will receive induction therapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil with hormonal synchronization utilizing tamoxifen and premarin as in a previous Medicine Branch protocol (MB-160C). Among patients with inflammatory carcinoma of the breast, pathologic complete responders will receive irradiation to the breast and regional lymph nodes; convertible partial responders and clinical complete responders with residual disease on biopsy will undergo surgical resection of bulk disease followed by irradiation of the chest wall and regional lymph nodes excluding the axilla. Both groups of responders will be randomized to receive either systemic consolidation therapy with high dose melphalan (180 mg/M2 total dose over 3 days) and autologous bone marrow transplantation followed by maintenance therapy or maintenance therapy alone. Complete responders in this noninflammatory group will not receive further therapy since, historically, they have done well following induction and local therapy, with maintenance therapy alone. Patients with metastatic breast cancer will be assessed for response throughout induction therapy. Complete and convertable partial responders will receive consolidative therapy and be randomized to ABMT followed by 6 months of maintenance therapy vs. maintenance alone.
Patients with Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome suffer from ulcers of the upper gastrointestinal tract, higher than normal levels of gastric acid, and tumors of the pancreas known as non-beta islet cell tumors. Prior to the use of drugs to cure the ulcers, patients typically died due to severe ulcers. Because of such effective drugs to treat the ulcers it is more common to see patients dying due to the pancreatic tumors. The study will observe patients suffering from Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome and non-beta islet cell tumors and determine the effectiveness of combined chemotherapy with streptozotocin, 5-fluorouracil, and doxorubicin.