Cancer Clinical Trials in Washington, DC

The primary objective is to assess the activity and efficacy of pembrolizumab, a checkpoint inhibitor, in Veterans with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) characterized by either mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) or biallelic inactivation of CDK12 (CDK12-/-). The secondary objectives involve determining the frequency with which dMMR and CDK12-/- occur in this patient population, as well as the effects of pembrolizumab on various clinical endpoints (time to PSA progression, maximal PSA response, time to initiation of alternative anti-neoplastic therapy, time to radiographic progression, overall survival, and safety and tolerability). Lastly, the study will compare the pre-treatment and at-progression metastatic tumor biopsies to investigate the molecular correlates of resistance and sensitivity to pembrolizumab via RNA-sequencing, exome-sequencing, selected protein analyses, and multiplexed immunofluorescence. Read Less

This research trial is studying a combination of neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT), immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy for lymph node-positive, triple negative (TN) or hormone receptor positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. The names of the study interventions involved in this study are: Radiation Therapy (RT) Immunotherapy: Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) Chemotherapies: Paclitaxel Doxorubicin (also called Adriamycin) Cyclophosphamide Carboplatin (optional, and in TN only) Capecitabine (optional, and in TN only) Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the safety and tolerability of anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody (mAb), daratumumab, in combination with KRAS vaccine (Targovax TG-01/Stimulon QS-21) when given with anti-PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) mAb (nivolumab) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The main questions it aims to answer are: How well does daratumumab and nivolumab, when given with a vaccine, control or stop these types of cancer? How well does participants bodies handle these study drugs? Does this combination of study drugs help participants live longer? Participants will receive daratumumab, nivolumab with KRAS vaccine and have regular tests and procedures to follow how the participants are doing on these study drugs. Read Less

ExoLuminate is a nationally-enrolling registry study designed for earlier detection of cancer in patients at elevated risk or clinically-suspicious for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Those with elevated risk for PDAC can include individuals with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, family history of pancreatic cancer, germline mutations in genes known to be associated with cancer, and a personal or family history of pancreatitis. The goal of the study is to compare the performance of ExoVerita™ assay in early detection of PDAC to current standard-of-care methods of surveillance. Read Less

Cervical cancer is primarily caused by Human Papillomaviruses (HPV). Testing for HPV in cervical samples is now an option for cervical cancer screening. HPV can also be tested from self-collected samples which may help to improve access to screening, since it does not require a doctor visit. However, many women will test positive for HPV who are not at high risk for cervical cancer. Therefore, additional ("triage") tests are needed to determine which women testing HPV-positive require additional clinical workup. For self sampling, a triage test that could be measured from the same initial sample without requiring a follow-up visit to the doctor would be an ideal strategy. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a new HPV test that measures changes in HPV DNA can be used to triage HPV-positive women using self collected samples. This study will enroll 1,000 women who are undergoing cervical cancer screening at the George Washington University. Women will be asked to take a self-collected sample prior to their clinic visit. The investigators will evaluate the clinical accuracy of the new HPV triage test in self-collected samples and compare the accuracy of the test in samples collected by the clinician. Read Less

The objective of the proposed study is to scale social risk factor screening and referral for cancer survivors and to solidify information exchange between clinical and community settings in order to improve survivor health and well-being. This will be completed through three primary aims: 1) To ascertain workflow and map community resources needed to facilitate social risk factor screening and referral for breast and prostate cancer survivors in Washington, District of Columbia. 2) To determine impact of Community Health Worker (CHW) support on Black breast and prostate cancer survivor health and wellbeing as measured through quality of life (QOL) and social connection. 3) To determine impact of anti-racism training for staff and clinicians at three cancer centers on patient-reported discrimination. Read Less

Sleep disruption is common among young adult cancer survivors for a variety of reasons. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has been shown to improve chronic sleep disorders. This project will test the feasibility and acceptability of a new voice-activated virtual assistant (VAVA) device to deliver CBT-I to improve sleep among young adult cancer survivors with chronic sleep disorders. Read Less

Quality of life data following SBRT for prostate cancer has been obtained in only a small numbers of patients. A prospective study using validated quality of life questionnaires is needed to determine outcomes after treatment with SBRT. Our study will be the first essential step in developing a better evidence base on the comparative risks and benefits of SBRT treatment with regards to quality of life assessment and outcomes. Read Less

This is a multicenter, open-label study conducted in two phases: Phase 1 consisting of a CGX1321 Single Agent Dose Escalation Phase in solid tumors, CGX1321 Single Agent Dose Expansion Phase in GI tumors and Roll-over Cohort of CGX1321 and pembrolizumab in subjects who have progressed on single agent CGX1321 and Phase 1b consisting of CGX1321 in combination with pembrolizumab in colorectal tumors and CGX1321 in combination with encorafenib + cetuximab in BRAFV600E mutated colorectal tumors. Both phases are to evaluate safety, pharmacokinetics, and clinical activity. Read Less

GMG ArcData will create a mobile-based application to improve communications and data exchange among patients and navigators involved in new pancreas surgery oncology episodes of care. Functionality will align with care processes using smartphone and the EHR patient portal. GMG will apply user-centered design theory and behavioral psychology approaches to co-design, develop, and test usability of features that optimize patient navigators-patient encounters on scheduling issues, nutrition guidance, pain management, wellbeing assessments, and activity tracking. Evaluation endpoints will reflect how the application improves the efficiency of workflows and lessens cognitive burden. Study will assess how patients and navigators perceive the tool's ability to provide more control and easier access to information about surgical care. The key project innovations are based on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-based engineering standards that enable interoperability among digital health platforms, apply 'recommender' functions based on similar patients' experiences, and exploit microeducation tools to enhance patient understanding about their surgical care. The research team has partnered with MedStar Health and Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to co-design the software and access patients for usability testing. Successful implementation will lead to exploring a joint venture for scaling to other care episodes, expanded functionality, and co-creating business models for commercialization. Read Less