Cancer Clinical Trials in Coral Gables, FL

This phase II/III trial compares the effect of adding chemotherapy before and after surgery versus after surgery alone (usual treatment) in treating patients with stage II-III gallbladder cancer. Chemotherapy drugs, such as gemcitabine and cisplatin, 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. Giving chemotherapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller; therefore, may reduce the extent of surgery. Additionally, it may make it easier for the surgeon to distinguish between normal and cancerous tissue. Giving chemotherapy after surgery may kill any remaining tumor cells. This study will determine whether giving chemotherapy before surgery increases the length of time before the cancer may return and whether it will increase a patient's life span compared to the usual approach. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to learn about sleep behaviors and test different ways to help patients with cancer and partners. Participants (patient-sleep-partner caregivers dyads as a unit) participate in the study together. Read Less

This phase III trial studies how well standard systemic therapy with or without definitive treatment (prostate removal surgery or radiation therapy) works in treating participants with prostate cancer that has spread to other places in the body. Addition of prostate removal surgery or radiation therapy to standard systemic therapy for prostate cancer may lower the chance of the cancer growing or spreading. Read Less

This phase II trial studies how well radiation therapy with or without cisplatin works in treating patients with stage III-IVA squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who have undergone surgery. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, 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. It is not yet known if radiation therapy is more effective with or without cisplatin in treating patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Read Less

This phase III trial compares the effect of sentinel lymph node mapping to standard lymph node dissection in reducing the risk of swelling in the legs (lymphedema) in patients undergoing a hysterectomy for stage I endometrial cancer. Standard lymph node dissection removes lymph nodes around the uterus during a hysterectomy to look for spread of cancer from the uterus to nearby lymph nodes. Sentinel lymph node mapping uses a special dye and camera to look for cancer that may have spread to nearby lymph nodes. Comparing the results of the procedures may help doctors predict the risk of long-term swelling in the legs. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial studies how well crizotinib works in treating patients with stage IB-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer that has been removed by surgery and has a mutation in a protein called anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). Mutations, or changes, in ALK can make it very active and important for tumor cell growth and progression. Crizotinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the ALK protein from working. Crizotinib may be an effective treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer and an ALK fusion mutation. Read Less

This trial studies how well paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab work in eliminating further chemotherapy after surgery in patients with HER2-positive stage II-IIIa breast cancer who have no cancer remaining at surgery (either in the breast or underarm lymph nodes) after pre-operative chemotherapy and HER2-targeted therapy. 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. Trastuzumab and pertuzumab are both a form of "targeted therapy" because they work by attaching themselves to specific molecules (receptors) on the surface of tumor cells, known as HER2 receptors. When these drugs attach to HER2 receptors, the signals that tell the cells to grow are blocked and the tumor cell may be marked for destruction by the body's immune system. Giving paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab may enable fewer chemotherapy drugs to be given without compromising patient outcomes compared to the usual treatment. Read Less