View clinical trials related to Esophageal Neoplasms.
Filter by:Background: - Chromatin is is the structural building block of a chromosome. It is found inside the nucleus of the cell and consists of a complex of DNA and protein. - Cancers of the lung, pleura (lung lining) and esophagus show profound changes in chromatin structure that may affect the course of disease in patients. - A better understanding of these diseases and the genetic changes associated with them may be helpful in developing new treatments for them. Objectives: - To evaluate people with cancer of the lung, pleura or esophagus for participation in NCI clinical trials. - To obtain biopsies (small pieces of tissue) from tumor, normal tissue and blood samples to learn more about the cellular changes in blood and tissue in tumors of the lung, esophagus and pleura and surrounding structures in the chest. Eligibility: Patients 2 years of age and older with cancer of the lung, esophagus, pleura, mediastinum or chest wall, or cancers of other origin that have invaded the lung. Note: Patients >= 2 years of age and under 18 years of age may only participate in research sample collection. Design: - Up to 1100 patients may be included in this study. - Patients undergo standard tests for evaluating the stage of their disease and for determining eligibility for an NCI investigational treatment study. - All patients undergo bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage ("washing" with salt water) to assess their tumor and collect a sample of normal tissue. Patients whose tumor is located on the outside portion of the lung may also undergo thoracoscopy to obtain a tumor sample. For bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage a tube with a light is passed through the nose or mouth into the lungs to examine the airways. Salt water is injected through the tube and then withdrawn to obtain cells for laboratory studies. For the thoracoscopy a small tube with a light is put through a small hole in the chest to obtain the tumor sample. Both procedures are usually done under general anesthesia. The tissue is examined to identify cell characteristics of people who respond to certain therapies and to identify markers on the surface of the tissue that may be useful in future research and treatment. - Blood and urine samples are collected from patients. - Patients who are eligible for a treatment study at NCI are offered participation in the study. - Patients for whom standard surgery, radiation or chemotherapy is more appropriate may receive treatment at NCI or with their own physician. - Patients who receive treatment at NCI return for follow-up examinations 4 weeks after discharge and then every 2 to 4 months depending on the nature of their cancer.
Knowledge of the impact of gene expression profiling could allow optimisation of chemotherapy regimens for individual patients. It could ensure that patients do not receive a particular form of chemotherapy if it is unlikely to benefit them, and in these circumstances an alternative form of chemotherapy that may prove beneficial could be selected. This information will therefore allow chemotherapy to be tailored to the individual tumour. It may help identify those patients with a poorer prognosis who could be selected for further therapy post surgery or a different treatment strategy at the outset.
S-1 is a novel oral fluorouracil antitumor drug that consists of tegafur which is a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU); 5-chloro-2,4-dihydropyridine (CDHP), which inhibits dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) activity; and potassium oxonate (Oxo), which reduces gastrointestinal toxicity. 5-FU is metabolized by CYP2A6 and DPD. In this study, the researchers investigate the influences of differences in activities of CYP2A6 and DPD on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of S-1 and clinical outcomes in digestive organ cancer patients treated with S-1.
Surgery is the standard treatment for esophageal (food pipe) cancer. Esophageal cancer is known to spread to the lymph nodes (glands) adjacent to the esophagus. The extent of lymph nodes that need to be removed along with removal of the esophagus is a controversial topic. The basic surgery will remain the same i.e., the foodpipe in the chest will be removed and a new substitute will be created from the stomach and joined to the foodpipe in the neck. This will involve incisions in the chest, abdomen and neck. We intend to compare two types of lymphadenectomy (removal of lymph nodes) - the two field lymphadenectomy, whereby the lymph nodes in the abdomen and the lower half of the chest will be removed and three field lymphadenectomy, wherein lymph nodes in the abdomen, the whole chest and the lower neck will be removed. Both these procedures are practised widely worldwide and there is no definite scientific evidence showing the superiority of either of them. We are conducting this study to see whether one of these procedures is superior to the other. Seven hundred patients are expected to participate in this study.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known which regimen of combination chemotherapy is more effective in treating esophageal cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of two regimens of combination chemotherapy in treating patients who are undergoing surgery for esophageal cancer.