View clinical trials related to Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and maximum tolerated dose of the combination taxotere, cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin. We will also preliminarily assess whether the combination is effective in treating squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
The purpose of this study is to further test a combination chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and to see if the addition of supportive medicine can help reduce the side effects of these drugs.
This 2-phase study will determine the safety of treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer with the genetically engineered HyperAcute-Lung cancer vaccine. It will establish the proper vaccine dose and will examine side effects and potential benefits of the treatment. The vaccine contains killed lung cancer cells containing a mouse gene that causes the production of a foreign pattern of protein-sugars on the cell surface. It is hoped that the immune response to the foreign substance will stimulate the immune system to attack the patient's own cancer cells that have similar proteins without this sugar pattern, causing the tumor to remain stable or shrink. Patients 18 years of age or older with non-small cell lung cancer that has recurred or no longer responds to standard treatment may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history and physical examination, blood tests, urinalysis, chest x-rays, and lung function testing. CT, MRI, PET, and ultrasound scans of the chest may be obtained if needed. Participants will receive four vaccinations a month apart from each other. The vaccines will be injected under the skin, similar to the way a tuberculosis skin test is given. Phase I of the study will treat successive groups of patients with increasing numbers of the vaccine cells to evaluate side effects of the treatment and determine the optimum dose. Phase II will look for any beneficial effects of the vaccine given at the highest dose found to be safe in Phase I. Weekly blood samples will be drawn during the 4 months of vaccine treatment. In addition, patient follow-up visits will be scheduled every 2 months for the first year after vaccination and then every 3 months for the next 2 years for the following tests and procedures to evaluate treatment response and side effects: - Medical history and physical examination - Blood tests - X-rays and various scans (nuclear medicine/CT/MRI) - FACT-L Assessment questionnaire to measure the impact of treatment on the patient's general well-being. The questionnaire is administered before beginning treatment, before each vaccination, and during follow-up visits after completing the treatment. It includes questions on the severity of lung cancer symptoms and the ability to perform normal activities of daily life. In addition to the above procedures, 3 skin punch biopsies will be done at the vaccination site to look for a local immune response. For this procedure, an area of skin is numbed with an anesthetic and a 4 mm (about 1/4-inch) circular area is removed, using a sharp cookie cutter-type instrument. Also, one blood sample per year will be collected for the next 15 years to monitor the safety of the gene transfer. Patients whose lung cancer spreads to the skin, superficial soft tissues, or a superficial lymph node may be asked to undergo a biopsy of the lesion to see what effect the treatment may be having on the tumor.
This study will determine if family members of patients with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) have various abnormalities, including: skin abnormalities; nervous system abnormalities, such as hearing problems; skin, eye, or internal cancers, or other changes. XP is a rare inherited disease that involves an inability to repair damage to cell DNA (genetic material). It can affect several organ systems, including the skin, eye, nervous system, and bones. Patients have a more than thousand-fold increase in frequency in all major skin cancers. Parents of patients with XP are carriers of the abnormal XP gene. Other family members may also be carriers of the abnormal XP gene. Carriers do not develop the disease themselves; symptoms develop only in children who have inherited the faulty gene from both parents. This study will try to clarify the genetic basis for XP and to understand the increased frequency of cancer in the disease. XP patients who have been evaluated at the NIH Clinical Center and their relatives are eligible for this study. Newly diagnosed XP patients are also eligible. Spouses of relatives will also be included as control subjects. Patients and their family members will undergo some or all of the following procedures: - Parental permission to review the child s relevant medical records and pathology material from treatments or surgery for cancer or other related illnesses - Medical history and physical examination, with particular attention to the skin and possible eye, hearing or neurological examinations - Photographs to document skin and other physical findings - Nuclear medicine scans to evaluate the brain and nervous system - X-rays of the skull or other parts of the body - Nervous system testing with an electroencephalogram (EEG), electroretinogram (ERG), electromyogram (EMG) or nerve conduction velocity measurement - Collection of blood and skin samples for gene studies - Establishment of cell lines from collected blood or tissues to study DNA repair, skin cancer, cancers related to XP, immune defects, and related studies. - Biopsy (surgical removal of a small piece of tissue) of suspicious skin lesions for examination under a microscope - Collection of a cheek cell sample, obtained by twirling a soft brush against the inside of the cheek - Collection of a hair sample for microscopic examination and composition analysis - Surgery to treat skin cancers or other lesions
This study will test the safety and effects of the experimental drug PS-341 plus radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer. PS-341 can slow or halt the growth of cancer cells grown in culture or in mice. In addition, the drug appears to enhance the effectiveness of radiation treatment. Patients 18 years of age and older with head and neck cancer that cannot be treated adequately with surgery and cannot be cured with standard radiation and chemotherapy may be eligible for this study. Patients whose cancer has spread to the brain may not participate. Before treatment begins participants are evaluated with CT or MRI scans of the head, neck and chest area to determine the extent of the cancer; an electrocardiogram and blood tests; and a neurocardiovascular evaluation that includes measuring blood pressure in different body positions and involves injections of phenylephrine and nitroglycerine. Some patients may undergo a procedure in which a tube is inserted into the larynx (voice box), bronchi (breathing tubes) and esophagus (food tube) and tissue samples removed. This procedure is done under general anesthesia in the operating room. Patients receive radiation treatments Monday through Friday and injections of PS-341 twice a week during the radiation therapy. After 3 weeks of treatment, PS-341 injections are stopped for 2 weeks. Some patients continue to receive radiation treatments during the 2-week break, and others do not, depending upon when they enter the trial. The total duration of radiation treatment varies from 6 to 8 weeks, depending on whether the patient received radiation in the region of the head and neck cancer before entering the study. Patients have a blood sample drawn before and after each new PS-341 injection to measure the drug action in the blood and to see how strong and how long the effects on the blood last. They are seen in the clinic at least once a week for a history and physical examination. A blood sample is collected at each visit to look for toxic effects of PS-341. Near the end of treatment, the neurocardiovascular evaluation is repeated, and if the results are abnormal, it is repeated again 3 months after treatment is completed. X-rays or MRI scans are done 12 weeks after radiation therapy has ended and then every few months after that to determine the extent of disease. Patients whose tumor is accessible are asked to undergo a biopsy (removal of a small piece of tumor tissue) on the first and second day after receiving the first PS-341 dose to examine the effect of the drug on the tumor. The PS-341 dose is increased in successive groups of at least 3 patients until the highest dose that can be given safely with radiation is reached. Patients who develop severe side effects from the drug temporarily stop taking it to allow the side effects to improve. If needed, the dose may be decreased. Radiation therapy may also be stopped temporarily in patients who develop severe effects on the mouth, throat or skin. Side effects may be treated with increased fluid (by mouth, stomach tube, or vein), anti-nausea or anti-diarrhea medications, pain medications and medications to boost red or white cell counts or platelets. The drug Florinef may be given to help regulate body fluids and blood pressure. ...
The goal of this study is to learn how tumors of the upper airway and digestive passages (tongue, throat, mouth, and voicebox) affect the body's immune defenses and energy storage. Previous studies have shown that tumors of the vocal tract produce signals that could help the tumor escape the body's immune defenses and use the body's energy and mineral stores to grow. Researchers are hoping to learn more about what signals give tumor cells an advantage to live and grow, how tumor cells control these signals, and how these signals affect the rest of the body. This study will look closer at researchers belief that tumors in the vocal tract contain genes (genetic information) that abnormally function to allow the tumors to survive and grow against the attack of the body's normal immune system Patients with cancerous tumors (squamous cell carcinoma) and benign (non-cancerous) tumors (papilloma) of the upper aerodigestive tract who are candidates for standard or investigational therapy are eligible to participate in this study. Tumor cells will be collected from patients participating in the study, who will undergo standard surgical treatment or biopsies for their conditions. Once tumor cells are collected they can be analyzed for their genetic make-up. In addition, patients will undergo several tests using skin, blood, and urine to look closely at the function of their immune systems and metabolism.
Radiotherapy plus Single-Agent Chemotherapy/Radiosensitization. Irradiation of tumor and involved nodes using 4-6 MV photons (brachytherapy allowed to boost primary tumor; electrons allowed to boost posterior neck and massive adenopathy); plus Paclitaxel (Bristol-Myers), Taxol, TAX, NSC-125973.