View clinical trials related to Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic.
Filter by:Anaplastic thyroid cancer has historically proven very difficult to research due to a combination of its rarity and the associated short survival period for those affected. In 2009, 2340 patients in the UK were diagnosed with thyroid cancer with 70-90 expected to be the anaplastic subtype 1,2. For these patients average life expectancy is in the range of 2-6 months with only a very small number surviving for more than one year. It is a highly aggressive form of cancer that is refractory to current treatment options. By collecting tissue and blood samples along with clinical data across the UK we will be able to accumulate numerically significant numbers of samples and data points which will facilitate research opportunities. Researchers will be encouraged to apply for access to the collected samples in order to try and establish the causal mechanisms for disease development, potential therapeutic targets and to relate clinical course and outcome with specific molecular defects. Due to the rarity it is not feasible for a single cancer centre or cancer network to accumulate sufficient samples for research in a meaningful timeframe hence the need for national collaboration in order to try and offer patients with this disease hope in the future. All UK patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer would be potentially eligible. The project is expected to run for at least 15 years and all thyroid cancer clinicians will be encouraged to participate. Patients will be asked to donate surplus thyroid cancer tissue following routine biopsy procedures along with an optional blood sample. 2. Objectives Primary Objectives The primary objective of this project is to establish a national anaplastic thyroid cancer tissue collection to help facilitate both basic and translational research opportunities. There is no direct research question that the project itself addresses at this stage. The research proposals that subsequently arise as a result of this project will be generated by accredited research parties from the UK and potentially internationally. These research proposals will be submitted to the interNational Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Tissue Bank and Database Project (iNATT) Steering Committee for assessment. As the volume of material collected per patient is expected to be of small volume, by virtue of the specimen comprising core biopsy or fine needle aspirate material, research proposals will need to be prioritised according to the potential benefits the proposed research offers. Priority will be given to projects that may lead to the identification of potential therapeutic targets. Each research proposal will require their own ethical approval and research and development assessments before commencing. The steering committee will be multidisciplinary and will include nationally respected researchers and thyroid cancer clinicians. Scientific Justification The long term objective is to try and address the current lack of understanding about the aetiology and progression of this disease and ultimately to develop new therapeutic interventions that may slow the rate of disease progression, improve quality of life and prolong what is currently a very short survival. Due to the short prognosis following diagnosis it is notoriously difficult to run interventional therapeutic clinical trials in this patient population. Patients usually present with locally advanced and metastatic disease and as a consequence are often of poor performance status making clinical trial participation very problematic. If potential therapeutic targets could be identified in vivo it would potentially open up new therapeutic avenues whilst sparing some patients with the 'wrong' molecular profile futile treatment. This is a unique project within the setting of anaplastic thyroid cancer research.
This randomized phase II trial studies the side effects and how well intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and paclitaxel with or without pazopanib hydrochloride works in treating patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer. Specialized radiation therapy that delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Pazopanib hydrochloride may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy and paclitaxel are more effective when given with pazopanib hydrochloride in treating thyroid cancer.
Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer is a very aggressive disease. The investigators believe that angiogenesis is very important for these tumors to progress. Preclinical data is suggesting this. This is why we we prospectively want to treat these patients with avastin (and doxorubicin). However, local control is of major concern. Therefore, patients are initially treated with hyperfractionated radiotherapy and undergo surgery. Then they can enter this study.
The goal of this study is to determine the activity of sorafenib in patients with advanced (metastatic or recurrent) thyroid cancer.
This phase II trial studies the side effects and how well pazopanib hydrochloride works in treating patients with advanced thyroid cancer. Pazopanib hydrochloride may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by stopping blood flow to the tumor.
The Phase I/II study will be conducted as an open label, multiple center study of CS-7017, an experimental drug and paclitaxel chemotherapy in subjects with advanced anaplastic thyroid cancer. Biopsies will be obtained from patients with accessible tumor at baseline, two-weeks after the first CS-7017 dosage (prior to the start of combination therapy) and at the end of the first study cycle (week 3 of combination therapy), in order to evaluate the effects of the study drug alone and in combination with the chemotherapy agent on the tumor. Treatment will continue until disease progression or the development of intolerable toxicities.
This phase II trial is studying how well sorafenib works in treating patients with advanced anaplastic thyroid cancer. Sorafenib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor.