View clinical trials related to Chordoma.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to collect information from medical records to see what effects proton beam radiation has on cancer and analyze possible side effects.
Before radiation treatment is given to treat chordomas, CT and MRI scans are used to create a three dimensional picture of the tumor using x-rays. The CT and MRI scans are used to determine the size and location of the area that will receive radiation treatment. The purpose of this research study is to see if combining the images from the FMISO-PET scan and the CT and MRI scans in radiation treatment planning changes the size and location of the area that will receive radiation treatment when compared to planning the radiation treatment with CT and MRI scans alone.
The primary purpose of this study is to determine if the administration of a higher dose would decrease the chance of tumor recurrence, compared to the risk of tumor recurrence with a lower dose. Most of the treatment will be given protons, but participants may receive a small portion of treatment with x-rays, because less radiation is given to the skin with x-rays. This study uses two slightly different doses of radiation It is not clear at this time which of the dose levels is better.
The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if proton beam therapy, with or without photon beam radiation therapy, is effective in the treatment of skull base chordoma. The safety of this treatment will also be studied.
This study will examine the response rate and the 6-month progression-free survival rates of subjects with advanced sarcoma treated with dasatinib.
This pilot study, conducted by the National Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts General Hospital, will investigate genetic factors that contribute to the development of chordoma in people from some families. Chordoma is a very rare, potentially fatal, slow-growing bone tumor derived from remnants of embryonic material. This study will determine the feasibility of conducting a larger study aimed at identifying new families with multiple members affected by chordoma to study the genetic basis of the disease. English-speaking persons diagnosed with chordoma when they were 18 years of age or younger and who were treated at the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology between 1988 and the end of the study period may be eligible for this protocol. The age range of these patients is currently from about 5 months to 33 years. Patients (or parents of minor patients) will be mailed a packet with instructions for completing the following procedures at home: - Provide permission for researchers to obtain medical records relating to the patient's chordoma and any other serious medical conditions he or she has had, and to obtain a piece of the patient's stored tumor tissue. - Complete a questionnaire about the patient's close blood relatives, including parents, brothers, sisters, and any more distant relatives who have had chordoma or a cancer or tumor which started in the brain or spine. The questionnaire will also include demographic information, such as education, marital status, ethnicity, religion, and household income. - Collect two samples of cheek cells (only from patients 6 years and older). Patients' packets include instructions and materials for collecting the cells. Parents of children 6 to 9 years old will collect cells from the child's mouth using a sterile soft-bristled brush contained in a tube. They will brush the inside of the child's cheek with the brush for about 30 seconds and then place the brush back in the tube. They will repeat this procedure with a second brush. Patients 10 years of age and older will rinse their mouth for about 45 seconds with a mouthwash provided in their packets and then spit the mouthwash into a collection container. They will repeat the procedure several hours later. All participants will return the signed permission forms, questionnaires, and cheek cell samples to the researchers in a pre-addressed stamped envelope, which is also provided in the packet. ...
RATIONALE: Polyvinylpyrrolidone-sodium hyaluronate gel may lessen the pain of oral mucositis, or mouth sores, in patients undergoing treatment for cancer. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well polyvinylpyrrolidone-sodium hyaluronate gel works in reducing pain from oral mucositis in young patients with cancer.
Chordoma is an uncommon (400 case/year in the U.S.) and potentially fatal bone tumor derived from remnants of embryonic notochord. It occurs primarily in the axial skeleton and has a mean age at diagnosis of 55 years, with a range from early childhood to over 70 years. This tumor usually presents at an advanced stage and the associated mortality is high due to local destruction and distant metastases. Chordoma is rare in African-Americans and is typically sporadic; there are few reports of these tumors arising congenitally or within members of the same family. Recently, we have identified and studied one large family in which 10 relatives in three generations have chordoma; the inheritance pattern suggests transmission of a mutation in an autosomal dominant gene. Using information from this family, we have tentatively napped this gene to the long arm of chromosome 7. To confirm this finding, and to fine map and clone the gene, we need to study additional chordoma families. In an effort to identify such families, we have developed collaborations with four SEER registries covering the populations of Detroit, Los Angeles, Iowa, and New Mexico. Each registry will identify all chordoma cases diagnosed since 1988 and invite them (or the next of kin of deceased cases) to participate in our study. Through 1997, the registries have identified a total of 140 chordoma cases, 96 of whom are living. The registries will invite these patients (or their next of kin) to participate in the study. The study components include completion of a self-administered personal and family medical history questionnaire, retrieval of medical records and pathology reports pertaining to chordoma, and collection of paraffin-embedded chordoma tissue and buccal mucosal cells for genetic studies. NCI will carry out all the data collection activities for the study subjects identified through the Detroit registry. NCI will also conduct the buccal cell collection component of the study for all patients identified by the other three registries. These three registries will carry out all other study activities on these patients/next of kin and will send the data and slides prepared from the paraffin blocks to NCI. NCI will analyze the questionnaire data to determine if any unusual patterns of cancers other than chordoma or other medical conditions appear to cluster in families of the chordoma patients. Selected members of any families with two or more relatives with chordoma will be invited to participate in a separate clinical and molecular study conducted at NIH to try to identify the chordoma gene. DNA from the buccal cells and tumor blocks from all other patients with "sporadic" chordoma identified through the registries (likely to comprise most patients) will not be studied until we or others have identified such a gene.
Preliminary response data, observed by Casali (Cancer, 2004) with imatinib 800 mg/day in patients affected by chordoma, need to be confirmed by a Phase II study, whose primary endpoint will be the formal assessment of clinical and pathological response. Aim of the study will be to explore treatment's activity, but also the potential impact of tumor response, the feasibility and outcome of subsequent surgery and radiotherapy. In addition, patterns of tumour response need to be investigated as well, given the peculiar patterns of response shown with molecular-targeted therapy in solid tumors.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. Chemoprotective drugs such as amifostine may protect normal cells from the side effects of high-dose chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of amifostine in protecting from the side effects of peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have high-risk or relapsed solid tumors.