19 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
RATIONALE: Studying samples of sputum and tissue in the laboratory from patients with dysplasia or cancer may help doctors identify and learn more about biomarkers related to cancer. It may also help the study of cancer in the future. PURPOSE: This laboratory study is looking at biomarkers in patients with respiratory tract dysplasia or lung cancer, head and neck cancer, or aerodigestive tract cancer.
The main purpose of the study is to: * Determine the safety and tolerability of erlotinib and LBH589B. * Establish a recommended phase II expansion dosing of LBH589B and erlotinib in patients with advanced aerodigestive tract cancers.
The primary aim is to study the effects of vorinostat on cyclin E, cyclin D1 and Ki-67 expression in aerodigestive tract tumors (lung, esophagus, and head and neck). Secondary aims are: To evaluate the concentration of vorinostat in tumor tissue and to correlate tumor tissue distribution with the plasma level in these patients; to perform exploratory analyses of the effects of vorinostat on the induction of apoptosis or necrosis in treated as compared to untreated tumors and on expression of p21, p27, EGFR and phospho-EGFR in aerodigestive tract tumors.
RATIONALE: Gathering information about how often problems with neurocognitive functioning occur in patients with newly diagnosed upper aerodigestive tract cancers may help doctors learn more about the disease. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying neurocognitive functioning in patients with newly diagnosed upper aerodigestive tract cancers receiving treatment at Henry-Joyce Cancer Clinic.
Primary objective: To determine the Phase II doses and to evaluate the safety of administering bexarotene (Targretin®) daily in combination with oral erlotinib (Tarceva™) to patients with advanced aerodigestive tract cancers. Secondary objectives: To evaluate the response rates, progression-free survival and overall survival of patients with advanced aerodigestive tract cancers treated with bexarotene (Targretin®) in combination with erlotinib (Tarceva™). To investigate the activity of this targeted combination therapy by evaluating changes in molecular markers from pre- and post-treatment buccal swab samples.
The objectives for this study is as follows: * Primary: * To evaluate the progression-free survival of locoregionally advanced (stages III/IV) SCCHN patients undergoing postoperative chemoradiotherapy with panitumumab. * Secondary: * To evaluate the overall survival, event-free survival, and toxicities. * To correlate efficacy parameters with 1) EGFR and downstream pathway activation, 2) FcyR polymorphisms, and 3) serum cytokine profiles. More specifically, the aim is to demonstrate the usefulness of biomarkers (downstream signaling molecules, FcyR polymorphisms, or tumor and serum cytokine(s) in predicting progression-free survival in patients with SCCHN treated with the above treatment. Specific biomarkers that relate to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and angiogenesis, including EGFR, pEGFR, Src, pMAPK, pSTAT3, pSTAT5, pSTAT1, pAKT, p38, p21, p27, PARP, E-cadherin, p-ErbB3, Ki67, VEGF, and IL-8, using reverse phase protein microarrays (RPPA) will be tested in baseline archival paraffin-embedded tumor tissue. To collect tumor tissue from pretreatment biopsies for cytokine/chemokine and immune biomarker studies on tumor tissue. We plan to investigate the expression of pAKT, pMAPK, and other EGFR pathway-related markers as well angiogenesis biomarkers. In addition, EGFR polymorphisms will be studied in tumor tissue samples and serum. Additional studies may be performed in the future. Some of these studies may be performed by Amgen.
To evaluate the use of the daVinci Robotic System for better visibility and access of head and neck lesions and decreased amount of surgery time.
Radiotherapy (RT) with concurrent chemotherapy represents the state of the art in curative intent treatment for locally advanced squamous carcinoma of the head and neck. Tumor hypoxia and high levels of angiogenesis (blood vessel formation) are associated with treatment failure. Preclinical models reveal that radiotherapy itself may induce tumor secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Curability may consequently be reduced by multiple mechanisms. Over-expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) also occurs commonly and increases the risk of treatment failure. The addition of EGFR blockade to RT alone increases the chance of a cure. Concurrent VEGF and EGFR blockade could be synergistic with one another and improve the effectiveness of concurrent chemoradiation for advanced head and neck cancer. This study will add angiogenic and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) blockade into an established program of curative intent concurrent chemoradiation for locally advanced head and neck cancer. The safety and effectiveness of delivering the drugs bevacizumab and Tarceva in conjunction with twice daily irradiation and concurrent cisplatin (CDDP) chemotherapy will be determined.
This study will assess the long-term safety and efficacy of bilateral intra-parotid administration of AAV2-hAQP1 in adults with Grade 2 or Grade 3 radiation-induced late xerostomia.
This study will assess the efficacy and safety of bilateral intra-parotid administration of AAV2-hAQP1 in adults with Grade 2 or Grade 3 radiation-induced late xerostomia.
With the increased availability of next-generation sequencing, oncologists are starting to incorporate genomic profiling into routine care of cancer patients. If a genomic alteration is identified during profiling, it could help guide the choice of therapy and improve treatment outcomes. This study will examine the anti-tumor activity of selected commercially available molecularly matched targeted therapies in patients who have failed first-line treatment for one of the following tumor types: non-small cell lung cancers; urothelial cancer; non-colon gastrointestinal cancers, and upper aerodigestive tract cancer.
The purpose of this study is to improve the quality of care provided for head and neck cancer patients. By better understanding the end of life experiences of dying patients and their families, the investigators hope to better anticipate and improve upon the experiences of future patients and their families.
To assess the use of the da Vinci® Robotic Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) in transoral surgeries in patients with benign and malignant lesions of the oral cavity and laryngopharynx.
RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as cetuximab, can block abnormal cell growth in different ways. Some block the ability of abnormal cells to grow and spread. Others find abnormal cells and help kill them or carry cell-killing substances to them. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying how well cetuximab works in treating patients with precancerous lesions of the upper aerodigestive tract.
RATIONALE: Photodynamic therapy uses a drug that becomes active when it is exposed to a certain kind of light. When the drug is active, precancerous cells and cancer cells are killed. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying the side effects and how well photodynamic therapy with porfimer sodium works in treating patients with precancerous lesions, cancer, or other disease of the aerodigestive tract.
The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if using the PEMFlex Solo II, a high-resolution camera for PET scan imaging, on an area of the body that has, or is suspected to have cancer will give researchers the same or better information about the disease compared to the images taken with a routine PET/CT. Researchers will compare the images taken using the PEMFlex Solo II to the images taken during your scheduled routine PET/CT scan, as well as any additional routine CT scan(s), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan(s), and/or ultrasound image(s) you may have had within the last 30 days or may have in the next 30 days.
The purpose of this research study is to collect information on whether images made using investigational microscopes can improve researchers' ability to evaluate and distinguish between normal and abnormal areas in tissue samples surgically removed from patients with squamous cell carcinoma. The microscopes being used in this study are considered investigational because they have not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for finding abnormal or pre-cancerous areas.
This research is being done to collect and store biological specimens (biospecimens) from people with cancer, regardless of tumor type, who are receiving treatments known or thought to have an effect on the immune system. The goal of this discovery and exploratory study is to: * Understand changes in the immune system associated with various cancer treatments, in order to better design new therapies or tests to predict how these treatments might work. * Identify risk factors for those who go on to develop side effects from immunotherapy. * Identify the molecular features associated with response and resistance to cancer therapies and immunotherapy using integrative genomic and immune repertoire characterization. * Capture and characterize systemic tumor burden by minimally invasive analyses of circulating tumor DNA. Participants may be asked to: * Donate samples of tumor, blood, lymph nodes, white blood cells, mouth cells (buccal smears) scraped from the inside of participant's cheek, urine, saliva, or other tissue samples. * Complete questionnaires about immunotherapy side effects at baseline and with follow-up appointments. * Undergo knee x-rays. * Allow the use of demographic and clinical information.
Hypothesis 1. The submandibular gland is not a lymphatic organ and usually remains uninvolved with head and neck cancer despite the presence of metastatic disease in the lymph nodes that surround it. 2. All the lymph nodes in the submandibular triangle can be removed without resection of the submandibular gland. Study Design A better understanding of the frequency of submandibular gland involvement may lead to refined treatment strategies for head and neck cancer, which can possibly spare removal of the submandibular gland and potentially improve the long term side effects from therapy.