View clinical trials related to Brain Neoplasms.
Filter by:This randomized phase II trial studies how well whole-brain radiation therapy or stereotactic radiosurgery with or without lapatinib ditosylate works in treating patients with breast cancer that has too many of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) on its cells and has spread to the brain. Radiation therapy uses high energy x rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Stereotactic radiosurgery is a specialized radiation therapy that delivers a single, high dose of radiation directly to the tumor and may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. Lapatinib ditosylate may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It is not yet known whether whole-brain radiation therapy or stereotactic radiosurgery together with lapatinib ditosylate is an effective treatment for brain metastasis from breast cancer.
Communication is an important component of comprehensive cancer care impacting patient satisfaction, adherence, and quality of life. The wide array of issues addressed in cancer clinical interactions makes communicating about a broad range of topics (including quality of life, communication, symptom control, complementary/alternative therapies, costs, treatment burden, prognosis, anxiety, side-effects, sexual function, palliative care options, etc.) especially interesting and potentially challenging. Some of these topics may not be routinely addressed in the clinical interaction or may require consultative support from other members of the comprehensive cancer care team. One frequently overlooked critical element in research on communication between cancer clinicians, their patients, and their primary care clinicians is describing real-time consultations between patients and their clinicians. These interactions provide rich material for assessing key psycho-social dynamics and identifying issues that patients find important in their care. In order to devise systems of care that optimize the patient experience, it is critical that clinicians and researchers understand, appreciate, and systematically characterize the richness and complexity of the decision-making process in routine cancer consultations between cancer patients and their treating clinicians. This study seeks to assess the patient experience in cancer care by observing patients and their physicians in their clinical interactions and following them for several months to see how their care went. By describing in-depth the conversations and experiences of patients in these clinical interactions, this study will lay the foundation for practice-based interventions to optimize patients' interactions with their cancer care teams.
This partially randomized phase II trial with a safety run-in component studies the side effects and how well bevacizumab given with or without trebananib works in treating patients with brain tumors that have come back (recurrent). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, may induce changes in the body's immune system and interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Trebananib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known whether giving bevacizumab together with trebananib is more effective than bevacizumab alone in treating brain tumors.
This study will examine if MRI perfusion and PET/CT can tell growing tumor and radiation injury apart. MRI perfusion looks at the blood vessels in the tumor. PET/CT looks if the tumor cells are actively growing. The investigators will do these two tests and see which one is better. Patients will remain on study until the completion of either the MRI perfusion or PET/CT that are within 12 weeks of each other. After one of these scans, the patient will have no active interventions and will be off study. Optional: Restriction Spectrum Imaging (RSI) Sequence RSI sequence is an advanced way of looking at your brain. The scan allows doctors to see how water is moving within brain tumors or within brain cells. The extra sequence takes additional 4-5 minutes in the scanner. The RSI sequence is optional. The patient will only be asked to participate if the doctor believes that it will be helpful. Off study: Patients will remain on study until the completion of either the MRI perfusion or PET/CT that are within 12 weeks of each other. After one of these scans, the patient will have no active interventions and will be off study. Patients will obtain a standard of care brain MRI scan about every 2-3 months. These MRI scans will be used to track disease progression.
Lung cancer is the first cause of death among cancer patients. Non Small Cell lung cancer (NSCLS) represents about 80-85% of the cases. Of this, about 80% presents with locally advanced or metastatic disease. Important to mention the number of patients that progress or recur in central nervous system (CNS). It has been reported that patients with adenocarcinoma, who are under 60 years and with elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) are in the highest risk to develop brain metastasis. In small cell lung cancer, treatment with prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is the standard of care in patients without progression after locoregional or systemic treatment because the proven benefit in overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). However, in NSCLC PCI has not been able to prove any survival benefit, only in CNS PFS, probably because there is no trial, to our knowledge, of PCI in NSCLC that include only the specific group of patients considered in high risk of developing brain metastasis.
There is ample evidence that children treated for a brain tumour (BT) often develop deficits in social and emotional functioning. The investigators wish to examine the cause of these deficits, i.e. the underlying neuropsychological deficit(s). The aim is to study impairment and developmental delay in social cognition (and related cognitive functions) caused by brain damage in patients treated for a BT in childhood as compared to a reference group of chronically ill children. If we can identify the specific deficits these patients experience, neuropsychological treatment and guidance can be developed to give patients the most optimal chances to live as normal as possible, to improve their quality of life (QoL) and to prevent them from developing depression and anxiety. Eventually, an intervention programme could be developed based on our results, to improve social, vocational and emotional QoL.
In the Netherlands a 2 center investigator-driven phase I/II clinical trial is initiated in June 2010 testing the oncolytic adenovirus Delta24-RGD to treat glioblastoma patients. The virus is administrated using convection-enhanced delivery by 4 catheters as delivery technique, targeting solid tumor as well as infiltrated tumor cells within the peri-tumoral brain. Patients will be enrolled in cohorts of 3 per dose-level. The dose levels to be explored are: 10^7, 10^8, 10^9, 10^10, 3*10^10 and 10^11 viral particles (vp). Once the MTD has been determined, or the study has reached the highest dose cohort, a further 6 or 9 patients will be enrolled at the MTD and evaluated for safety and preliminary signs of efficacy, such that in total at least 12 patients have received the MTD. The primary objective is to determine the safety and tolerability of Delta-24-RGD administered by CED to the tumor and the surrounding infiltrated brain in patients with recurrent GBM. Secondary objectives are to determine the Progression Free Survival (PFS), Overall Survival (OS), and tumor response rate in patients with recurring tumors amenable for surgical resection and treated at the MTD. Cerebrospinal fluid as well as brain interstitial fluid by microdialysis next to the routinely collected samples of blood at various timepoints before, during and after virus infusion. Various neurodegenerative biomarkers as well as markers of immune response will be assessed in these samples. Furthermore extensive sampling and PCR analyses will be performed to evaluate distribution and shedding of the virus.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether erlotinib plus pemetrexed, cisplatin are effective and safe in treating lung adenocarcinoma with brain metastases.
The main purpose of this part of the study is to determine the Central Nervous System bioavailability of sulfasalazine.
In normal patients, blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contain circulating cells and other molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. In patients with central nervous system (CNS) and other conditions, the levels of these molecules may be altered. In several other studies at our institution, the investigators are investigating such molecules in tumor specimens as well as the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of pediatric patients with CNS tumors. However, these levels are difficult to interpret without comparing them to levels in patients without CNS tumors. The investigators propose a study to collect small amounts of blood and cerebrospinal fluid from pediatric patients without CNS tumors who are undergoing a diagnostic or therapeutic neurosurgical procedure aimed at addressing altered CSF dynamics.