5 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This phase I/II trial studies the side effects of interstitial photodynamic therapy following palliative radiotherapy and how well it works in treating patients with inoperable malignant central airway obstruction. Patients who have advanced stage cancer tumors in the lung can often have the breathing passages to the lung partially or completely blocked. These tumors could be due to lung cancer or other cancers (e.g., renal, breast, kidney, etc.) that spread to the lung. This blockage puts the patient at a higher risk for respiratory failure, post-obstructive pneumonia, and prolonged hospitalizations. Treatment for these patients may include bronchoscopic intervention (such as mechanical removal, stenting, laser cauterization, or ballooning), radiation therapy with and without chemotherapy. While palliative x-ray radiotherapy may help in shrinking the tumor, high dose curative radiotherapy that can ablate (a localized, nonsurgical destruction) the tumor also has high risk to cause significant toxicity, including bleeding, abnormal connections or passageways between organs or vessels and abnormal scar tissue that can also produce airway obstruction. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is another possible treatment that can provide local control of the tumor. PDT consists of injecting a light sensitive drug (photosensitizer, PS) into the vein, waiting for the PS to accumulate in the tumor, and then activating it with a red laser light. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays, particles, or radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Giving interstitial photodynamic therapy following palliative radiotherapy may improve tumor response and survival without the serious side effects that are associated with the typical high dose curative x-ray radiotherapy alone in patients with malignant central airway obstruction.
This research is being done to evaluate the feasibility of the AveCure Flexible Microwave destruction of tissue (Ablation) Probe for the treatment of malignant central airway obstruction using a thin, tube-like instrument with a light and a lens for viewing and removing tissue (bronchoscopic). The name of the intervention being used in this research study is: AveCure Flexible Microwave Ablation Probe (handheld, surgical device that delivers microwave energy via flexible probe tip)
Thermal ablation (use of treatment modalities that generate heat) has become a widely used tool for treatment of central airway obstruction (e.g. laser, electrocautery, radiofrequency, and argon plasma coagulation). However, this method carries with it an increased risk for airway fire - a surgical fire that occurs in a patient's airway and could also include a fire in the attached breathing circuit. To decrease the risk of airway fire during mechanical ventilation with an endotracheal tube, the concentration of inspired oxygen (FiO2) is set below 40% while waiting for end tidal oxygen concentration (EtO2) to fall below 40% prior to starting thermal ablation. There is no published literature describing O2 concentration within the airways (AiO2) during jet ventilation with rigid bronchoscopy. The co-investigators of this study have recently collected data on AiO2 during rigid bronchoscopy using manual low frequency jet ventilation/high frequency jet ventilation with a period of apnea. The intent of this study is to measure the time taken for the central airway oxygen concentration to drop from 90 to 40% when the "laser mode" is activated on the Monsoon jet ventilator. Ventilation is continued during "laser mode."
The goal of this clinical research study is to compare the effects of sodium bicarbonate to normal saline when used for clearing mucus blockage in patients with airway stents.
Vibration response imaging (VRI) technology, provides a radiation-free dynamic image of the lung, by visualizing vibration energy emitted during the respiration cycle (lung sounds). Airflow in the lungs during the respiration cycle creates vibrations that propagate through the lung tissue; these vibrations are affected by the structural properties of the lungs and may vary in space, time and frequency. Moreover, any structural alteration, such as a bronchial obstruction or space occupying infiltration, is reflected in a corresponding modification of the vibration response. As obstructions that occur in airways alter airflow, the VRI may provide additional lung function information prior to treatment for airway obstruction and during follow-up. Moreover, the VRI may provide the physician immediate evaluation of the improvement of air flow distribution, quantitative and qualitative measurements. Furthermore, the VRI is a non-invasive, radiation free procedure which is simple and doesn't require the level of patient effort required for lung function test and other evaluation.