View clinical trials related to Anal Cancer.
Filter by:RATIONALE: Specialized radiation therapy that delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fluorouracil and mitomycin C, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving radiation therapy together with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin C may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying the side effects and how well giving intensity-modulated radiation therapy together with fluorouracil and mitomycin C works in treating patients with invasive anal cancer.
The primary objectives of this study are: 1. To assess the preferences of cancer patients scheduled to receive chemoradiation and caregiver controls for side-effects of chemoradiation. 1. To compare preferences of cancer patients to those of healthy individuals. 2. To compare how patients' preferences for side-effects of chemoradiation change over time. 2. To longitudinally assess the quality of life of cancer patients scheduled to receive chemoradiation. 3. To determine the impact of nausea and vomiting associated with chemoradiation on patients' quality of life and evaluate potential change throughout the duration of chemoradiation treatment.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and fluorouracil, 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 cetuximab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving cisplatin, fluorouracil, and cetuximab together with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving cisplatin, fluorouracil, and cetuximab together with radiation therapy works in treating patients with HIV and stage I, stage II, or stage III anal cancer.
RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as cetuximab, 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. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and fluorouracil, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Cetuximab may help cisplatin and fluorouracil work better by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drugs. It may also make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Giving cetuximab together with chemotherapy and radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving cetuximab together with cisplatin, fluorouracil, and radiation therapy works in treating immunocompetent patients with stage I (closed to accrual as of 11/3/2008), stage II, (some stage II closed to accrual as of 11/3/2008) or stage III anal cancer.
CT-examinations are used in computer programs which are used in the planning of external radiation of cancers in the anal canal. In CT the structures of the anal canal are hardly visible. 3D-ultrasound examinations offer a better visualisation of normal and pathological structures of the anal canal. The description of the tumour made from the 3D-ultrasound examination is used in the planning of the external radiation. PET-CT is used to visualise tumour activity also in lymp nodes. The hypothesis of the study is that image fusion of PET, CT and 3D-ultrasound will offer better visualisation of tumour and hereby more accurate diagnostics and treatment.
Study the Genetics of Anal Cancer
Cancer of the anus occurs at very high rates in young men with HIV and is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). Anal cancer has increased during the HIV epidemic despite effective therapies for HIV. Unfortunately, anal cancer presents at a late stage because there is no screening program to find it at an early stage. Rates of other cancers such as cervical cancer have been reduced through the use of Pap smears. The researchers' plan is to do the same type of screening for anal cancer as has been done for cervical cancer. If abnormalities are found then treatment can be started. The researchers hope that this approach will help to prevent anal cancer. Testing for HPV will also be done to see if this helps to detect early cancer and to see how accurate different tests, pathologists and clinical examiners are at detecting and agreeing on any abnormalities. The main outcome is the presence of any pre-cancerous or early cancer changes as determined by high resolution anoscopy (HRA). HRA involves looking through a microscope into the anus and this allows very tiny changes to be identified. Pieces of tissue can then be taken to make a definite diagnosis.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as capecitabine and oxaliplatin, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Capecitabine may stop the growth of tumor cells by stopping blood flow to the tumor. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Capecitabine and oxaliplatin may make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Combining capecitabine and oxaliplatin with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving capecitabine and oxaliplatin together with radiation therapy works in treating patients with stage II or stage III anal cancer.
RATIONALE: Octreotide may be effective in preventing or controlling diarrhea in patients who are undergoing chemoradiotherapy for anal or rectal cancer. It is not yet known whether octreotide is effective in treating diarrhea. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying octreotide in preventing or reducing diarrhea in patients who are undergoing chemoradiotherapy for anal or rectal cancer.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as mitomycin, fluorouracil, and cisplatin, use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy and mitomycin are more effective when combined with fluorouracil or with cisplatin in treating anal cancer . PURPOSE: This randomized phase II/III trial is studying how well giving radiation therapy and mitomycin together with fluorouracil works compared to radiation therapy, mitomycin, and cisplatin in treating patients with locally advanced anal cancer.