View clinical trials related to Astrocytoma.
Filter by:Standard treatment for patients with diffuse pontine tumors is radiation therapy, but less than 10% of patients are cured. Adding standard chemotherapy has not improved the cure rate. Standard treatment for high-grade astrocytomas is surgery and radiation. The surgeon removes as much of the tumor as she or he can. Radiation after that tries to kill any cancer cells that are left. Some patients also get chemotherapy. These are anti-cancer drugs. They can be given during or after radiation. Current standard treatments do not cure many patients. In this study the doctors are adding a new medication called cetuximab to the treatment and will also use a chemotherapy medication (irinotecan) that has been promising for patients treated for recurrent disease.
Background: - Growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) provides many tumors, including brain tumors, with needed nutrients and oxygen for cancer cells to survive. One possible treatment for different kinds of cancer involves treatment with drugs that slow or stop angiogenesis and prevent further tumor growth. - Vandetanib is an oral medication known to block angiogenesis and has shown significant antitumor activity in laboratory and animal studies. Vandetanib appears to be well tolerated by patients at specific daily doses. - Carboplatin is a drug that interrupts division of cancer cells and has been shown to be a useful drug in treatment of tumors known as gliomas. It is a useful drug for treating brain tumors, but researchers are interested in gathering more information about how it works as a treatment for patients who have not responded to initial surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Objective: - To determine the safety and effectiveness of vandetanib and carboplatin, given together or sequentially, against recurrent high-grade gliomas. Eligibility: - Adults diagnosed with a malignant glioma who have received standard treatments that no longer appear to be effective. Design: - Patients will be assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 patients (combination group) will receive oral vandetanib for 28 days and intravenous (IV) carboplatin (once at the beginning of the 28-day cycle). Group 2 patients (sequential group) will receive IV carboplatin alone (once at the beginning of the 28-day cycle) and then oral vandetanib (300 mg daily) for 28 days if the tumor grows or the patient develops unacceptable carboplatin toxicity. - Treatment will continue in 28-day cycles for 1 year for both groups. - Patients will undergo a number of tests and procedures during the treatment cycle, including physical examinations, routine laboratory tests, electrocardiograms, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans - At the end of 1 year of treatment, patients will be reevaluated for possible continuation of drug therapy.
This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of vorinostat when given together with bortezomib in treating young patients with refractory or recurrent solid tumors, including CNS tumors and lymphoma. Vorinostat and bortezomib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor.
Background: - An experimental drug called ABT-888 has been studied in combination with temozolomide (a type of chemotherapy) in adults who have certain kinds of cancer. ABT-88 has been shown to increase tumor sensitivity to temozolomide and improve treatment outcomes in people who have cancer. More research is needed to determine if this combination of drugs will work well as an effective treatment for children who have brain tumors. This will be the first time this combination has been studied in pediatric patients. Objectives: - To determine the maximum doses of ABT-888 and temozolomide when given in combination in children with brain tumors. - To learn how children metabolize and clear ABT-888 from their bodies so that appropriate doses of this medication can be recommended for future clinical trials of this drug. - To learn what side effects may occur when ABT-888 and temozolomide are given together. - To learn how certain tumors respond to this combination of drugs by studying the characteristics of these tumors in a laboratory. Eligibility: - Individuals less than 21 years of age who have been diagnosed with a cancer of the nervous system (including brain and brain stem tumors) that has not responded to standard therapy. Design: - Before beginning the study, participants will have a full medical history and physical examination, and may also be required to have scans of the brain and spine or provide samples of cerebrospinal fluid. - Treatment will consist of up to 13 28-day cycles of therapy, for a total of 52 weeks (1 year). Participants will receive a dose of ABT-888 twice daily for 5 days, and will receive a dose of temozolomide once daily for 5 days, every 28 days. The morning dose of ABT-888 will be given 60-90 minutes before the dose of temozolomide. - Participants will have routine blood tests at least once a week throughout the treatment cycles, and will have scans of the brain and spine performed as required by the researchers.
The high-grade malignant brain tumors, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and anaplastic astrocytoma (AA), comprise the majority of all primary brain tumors in adults. This group of tumors also exhibits the most aggressive behavior, resulting in median overall survival durations of only 9-12 months for GBM, and 3-4 years for AA. Initial therapy consists of either surgical resection, external beam radiation or both. All patients experience a recurrence after first-line therapy, so improvements in both first-line and salvage therapy are critical to enhancing quality-of-life and prolonging survival. It is unknown if currently used intravenous (IV) therapies even cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). Superselective Intraarterial Cerebral Infusion (SIACI) is a technique that can effectively increase the concentration of drug delivered to the brain while sparing the body of systemic side effects. One currently used drug called, Bevacizumab (Avastin) has been shown to be active in human brain tumors but its actual CNS penetration is unknown. This phase I clinical research trial will test the hypothesis that Bevacizumab can be safely used by direct intracranial superselective intraarterial infusion up to a dose of 10mg/kg to ultimately enhance survival of patients with relapsed/refractory GBM/AA. By achieving the aims of this study we will determine the toxicity profile and maximum tolerated dose (MTD of SIACI Bevacizumab. We expect that this project will provide important information regarding the utility of SIACI Bevacizumab therapy for malignant glioma, and may alter the way these drugs are delivered to our patients in the near future.
This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of ABT-888 when given in combination with temozolomide in treating young patients with recurrent or refractory CNS tumors. ABT-888 may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving ABT-888 together with temozolomide may kill more tumor cells.
Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography (PET-CT) with injection of 18F-fluoroethylcholine (FEC) could be a useful tool in the evaluation and follow-up of patients who have been diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and who are treated with radiotherapy and temozolomide by allowing, for example, the distinction of necrosis from tumour tissue. This tool could help the clinician in making therapeutic decisions for GBM patients.
To assess the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab plus irinotecan for the patients with recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma or with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme
The purpose of this study is to collect and store brain tissue samples and blood from children with brain cancer that will be tested in the laboratory. Collecting and storing samples of tumor tissue and blood from patients to test in the laboratory may help the study of cancer in the future.
Although the prognosis of patients with low-grade glioma (LGG) is generally good, recurrence seems unavoidable in some patients because of the infiltrative growth of the tumors. How to treat LGGs is still under controversy. The role of radiation therapy and chemotherapy in the treatment of LGG need to be further investigated. The purpose of this study is the following: 1. to investigate the role of early radiation therapy in MRI-determined total resected LGGs; 2. to compare the efficacy of early radiation therapy and that of initial chemotherapy in the LGGs without total resection.