View clinical trials related to Melanoma.
Filter by:This clinical trial studies lymph node mapping using indocyanine green solution in diagnosing patients with malignant melanoma. Diagnostic procedures, such as lymph node mapping using indocyanine green solution, may help find out how far the melanoma has spread and may help in planning cancer treatment.
The study comprises a Phase I component during which the optimal dose of DCVax-Direct for the treatment of solid tissue tumors will be identified, followed by a Phase II component to determine if the injection of DCVax-Direct into selected solid tissue tumors has the ability to reduce tumor growth.
The purpose of this study is to show that Nivolumab and/or Nivolumab in combination with Ipilimumab will extend progression free survival and overall survival compared to Ipilimumab alone.
This primary purpose of this study is to obtain blood samples from participants with both early and later stages of melanoma (Stage II/III and Stage IV). The researchers hope to better understand an abnormal protein found in many melanoma tumors called the BRAFV600 mutation. There will be two separate cohorts (groups) of participants on this study. You will be placed in one of the Groups. Group 1-For participants with advanced melanoma: Your existing tumor tissue sample will be compared to the blood samples given in order to further analyze and to understand the BRAFV600E gene mutation. Group 2-For participants with stage II/III melanoma: Following surgery, blood samples will be collected and analyzed. Understanding the BRAFV600E gene mutation in melanoma will help the researchers better understand the disease, and help plan treatment options for people with melanoma of all stages in the future.
Success of cancer immunotherapy is limited by the ability of solid tumors to evade local and systemic antitumoral immune responses. Several mechanisms of tumor immune evasion have been identified, including low intratumor expression of antigens and elevated expression of inhibitory co-regulatory molecules. An effective immunotherapy is one which would induce necrotic cell death and accompanying proinflammatory cytokine induction. Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) or Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) or brachytherapy, which is capable of delivering high, conformal radiation doses (>8 Gy) of tumor ablative radiation may be an effective means of conditioning a tumor bed to a state favorable to the initiation of robust antitumoral immune responses.
This research study is a Phase II clinical trial of an investigational combination of drugs (vemurafenib and aldesleukin) to learn whether the combination works in treating a specific cancer. While both vemurafenib and aldesleukin are approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, the FDA has not yet approved the combination of vemurafenib and aldesleukin. Researchers have found that a large number of melanoma cells have mutations in the BRAF gene. It has been shown that vemurafenib blocks the effects of these mutations in the BRAF gene, and, as a result, may help to prevent cancer growth. Aldesleukin, also referred to as IL-2, is an immunotherapy drug administered via IV infusion that increases the growth of key cells within the immune system that are responsible for targeting cancer cells. Activating more of these key cells, called T-lymphocytes and natural-killer cells, leads to increased cancer cell death. The BRAF gene is located on a larger pathway called the MAPK pathway. Studies have shown that when a BRAF inhibitor, like vemurafenib is used to block the MAPK pathway, melanocytes, or cancer cells express more proteins on their surfaces, making them easier for T-lymphocytes and natural killer cells to recognize and kill them. This suggests that combining BRAF-targeted therapy with aldesleukin, which activates more of these white blood cells, can lead to an increase in the death of cancer cells. In this research study, we are looking to see whether the combination of vemurafenib, a BRAF-inhibitor combined with aldesleukin, an immunotherapy drug, work together to produce a better health outcome in people with metastatic melanoma.
This research study is a Phase I clinical trial. Phase I clinical trials test the safety of investigational melanoma vaccines. Phase I studies also try to define the appropriate dose of the investigational vaccine, in this case WDVAX, to use for further studies. "Investigational" means that the vaccine is still being studied and that research doctors are trying to find out more about it. It also means that the FDA has not yet approved WDVAX for any use in patients, including people with Melanoma. The purpose of this study is to determine if it is possible to make a vaccine against melanoma by using your own melanoma tumor cells and combining them with other proteins which activate the immune system. We hope that by combining the cells and the proteins in this way that the vaccine will cause your own immune system to react against your melanoma tumor cells. The purpose of this study is also to determine the safest way to give this vaccine with the least amount of side effects. Each vaccine will contain your own tumor cells which have been killed by a freezing and thawing process which destroys the cells but keeps the proteins from the melanoma cells. This is called a "tumor lysate" Your tumor lysate is combined with other proteins which activate the immune system. The other proteins are called GM-CSF and CpG. All of this is held together to form a "tablet" or "scaffold" which is about the size of a regular aspirin tablet. The material that holds the protein together is called PLGA. PLGA is the same material that doctors use for "dissolvable stitches" If you have ever had a problem with these types of stitches in the past, be sure to let your study doctor know about this.
This randomized phase II trial studies how well ipilimumab with or without high-dose recombinant interferon alpha-2b works in treating patients with stage III-IV melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery. Monoclonal antibodies, such as ipilimumab, may block tumor growth by targeting certain cells. Recombinant interferon alfa-2b may interfere with the growth of tumor cells. It is not yet known whether ipilimumab is more effective with or without high-dose recombinant interferon alfa-2b in treating melanoma.
Purpose of this Pilot Study: The investigators want to study the safety, side effects, and benefits of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), when they are given with the drug ipilimumab. Ipilimumab is a type of immunotherapy - a drug that is used to boost the ability of the immune system to fight cancer, infection, and other diseases.
The safety of the combination of ipilimumab with carboplatin/paclitaxel treatment with two different dosing schedules will be investigated in patients with metastatic melanoma. This protocol will also investigate both the clinical benefit of this combination and the features of the host immune system that may predict response to ipilimumab with chemotherapy in patients with unresectable Stage III and Stage IV melanoma.