Cancer Clinical Trials in Des Moines, IA

This phase II/III trial compares the addition of radiation therapy to the usual treatment (immunotherapy with or without chemotherapy) versus (vs.) usual treatment alone in treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer that may have spread from where it first started to nearby tissue, lymph nodes, or distant parts of the body (advanced) or that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic) whose tumor is also negative for a molecular marker called PD-L1. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a type of radiation therapy that uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. This method uses special equipment to position a patient and precisely deliver radiation to tumors with fewer doses over a shorter period and may cause less damage to normal tissue than conventional radiation therapy. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, ipilimumab may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. The addition of radiation therapy to usual treatment may stop the cancer from growing and increase the life of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who are PD-L1 negative. Read Less

This phase 3 trial compares the addition of nivolumab to chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) versus usual treatment (chemotherapy alone) for the treatment of anal cancer that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin and 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. Giving nivolumab together with carboplatin and paclitaxel may help doctors find out if the treatment is better or the same as the usual approach. Read Less

This phase III trial compares the addition of an immunotherapy drug (durvalumab) to usual chemotherapy versus usual chemotherapy alone in treating patients with MammaPrint Ultrahigh (MP2) stage II-III hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as durvalumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Chemotherapy drugs, such as paclitaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide 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. There is some evidence from previous clinical trials that people who have a MammaPrint Ultrahigh Risk result may be more likely to respond to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Adding durvalumab to usual chemotherapy may be able to prevent the cancer from returning for patients with MP2 stage II-III hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancer. Read Less

This phase III trial compares the usual chemotherapy treatment to eribulin plus gemcitabine in treating patients with urothelial cancer that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Chemotherapy drugs, such as eribulin, gemcitabine, docetaxel, paclitaxel, and sacituzumab govitecan 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. This trial aims to see whether adding eribulin to standard of care chemotherapy may work better in treating patients with metastatic urothelial cancer. Read Less

This phase II trial studies how well cabozantinib works in combination with nivolumab and ipilimumab in treating patients with rare genitourinary (GU) tumors that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body. Cabozantinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab and ipilimumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving cabozantinib, nivolumab, and ipilimumab may work better in treating patients with genitourinary tumors that have no treatment options compared to giving cabozantinib, nivolumab, or ipilimumab alone. Read Less

This phase II trial compares the effect of atezolizumab in combination with usual treatment with cabozantinib to cabozantinib alone in patients with papillary renal cell carcinoma that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) is a type of kidney cancer that forms in the lining of the tiny tubes in the kidney that return filtered substances that the body needs back to the blood and remove extra fluid and waste as urine. Most papillary tumors look like long, thin finger-like growths under a microscope. It is also called papillary kidney cancer or PRCC. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab, may help body's immune system attack the cancer and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Cabozantinib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors. It works by blocking the action of an abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply and may also prevent the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to grow. By these actions it may help slow or stop the spread of cancer cells. Combination therapy with atezolizumab and cabozantinib may shrink the cancer and allow a longer survival time in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects on low risk breast cancer receiving usual care that includes regional radiation therapy, with receiving no regional radiation therapy. Researchers want to see if not giving this type of radiation treatment works as well at preventing breast cancer from coming back. Read Less

This phase II trial studies the good and bad effects of the combination of drugs called cabozantinib and nivolumab in treating patients with melanoma or squamous cell head and neck cancer that may have spread from where it first started to nearby tissue, lymph nodes, or distant parts of the body (advanced). Cabozantinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. This trial may help doctors determine how quickly patients can be divided into groups based on biomarkers in their tumors. A biomarker is a biological molecule found in the blood, other body fluids, or in tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process or a sign of a condition or disease. A biomarker may be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or condition. The two biomarkers that this trial is studying are "tumor mutational burden" and "tumor inflammation signature." Another purpose of this trial is to help doctors learn if cabozantinib and nivolumab shrink or stabilize the cancer, and whether patients respond differently to the combination depending on the status of the biomarkers. Read Less

This phase II trial compares atezolizumab in combination with chemotherapy (docetaxel, oxaliplatin, leucovorin calcium, fluorouracil, capecitabine) to atezolizumab alone for controlling the growth and/or spreading of the disease in patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction (JEG) cancer that has not spread from where it first started (local) or only has spread to nearby lymph nodes or tissue (locoregional) and has high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) and mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR). The mismatch repair (MMR) system in the body corrects errors made during the copying of DNA and serves as a proofreading function. If this system isn't working correctly, mutations (changes) in DNA occur which can allow the cancer to grow or spread. This is called dMMR (deficient mismatch repair) . MSI-H describes cancer cells that have a high number of mutations within microsatellites. For example, microsatellite testing that shows mutations in 30% or more microsatellites is called microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H). Microsatellites are short, repeated sequences of DNA. There is evidence that MSI-H/ dMMR gastric or GEJ tumors respond well to immunotherapy. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Docetaxel is in a class of medications called taxanes. It stops tumor cells from growing and dividing and may kill them. Oxaliplatin is in a class of medications called platinum-containing antineoplastic agents. It damages the cell's DNA and may kill tumor cells. Capecitabine is in a class of medications called antimetabolites. It is taken up by tumor cells and breaks down into fluorouracil, a substance that kills tumor cells. Chemotherapy drugs such as leucovorin calcium and fluorouracil 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. Using atezolizumab as immunotherapy with and following chemotherapy versus atezolizumab alone prior to and after surgery may shrink or stabilize the tumor in patients with MSI-H/dMMR localized gastric or GEJ cancer and may increase the length of time after treatment that cancer does not come back or get worse. Read Less

This phase II ComboMATCH treatment trial compares the usual treatment alone (fulvestrant) to using binimetinib plus the usual treatment in patients with hormone receptor positive breast cancer that has spread from where it first started to other places in the body (metastatic) and has an NF1 genetic change. Fulvestrant is a hormonal therapy that binds to estrogen receptors in tumor cells, resulting in estrogen receptor destruction and decreased estrogen binding, which may inhibit the growth of estrogen-sensitive tumor cells. Binimetinib is a targeted therapy that may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. The addition of binimetinib to fulvestrant in breast cancers with an NF1 genetic change could increase the percentage of tumors that shrink as well as lengthen the time that the tumors remain stable (without progression) as compared to fulvestrant alone. Read Less

This phase II ComboMATCH treatment trial compares the usual treatment of modified leucovorin, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX6) chemotherapy to using binimetinib plus mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy to shrink tumors in patients with biliary tract cancers that have spread to other places in the body (advanced) and had progression of cancer after previous treatments (2nd line setting). Fluorouracil is in a class of medications called antimetabolites. It works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells in the body. Oxaliplatin is in a class of medications called platinum-containing antineoplastic agents. It works by killing tumor cells. Leucovorin may help the other drugs in the mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy regimen work better by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drugs. Binimetinib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors. It works by blocking the action of the abnormal protein that signals tumor cells to multiply. This helps to stop or slow the spread of tumor cells. Giving binimetinib in combination with mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy may be effective in shrinking or stabilizing advanced biliary tract cancers in the 2nd line setting. Read Less

This phase II/III compares the standard therapy (chemotherapy plus cetuximab) versus adding bevacizumab to standard chemotherapy, versus combination of just bevacizumab and atezolizumab in treating patients with head and neck cancer that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic or advanced stage) or has come back after prior treatment (recurrent). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Bevacizumab is in a class of medications called antiangiogenic agents. It works by stopping the formation of blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients to tumor. This may slow the growth and spread of tumor. Cetuximab is in a class of medications called monoclonal antibodies. It binds to a protein called EGFR, which is found on some types of cancer cells. This may help keep cancer cells from growing. Cisplatin and carboplatin are in a class of chemotherapy medications known as platinum-containing compounds. They work by killing, stopping, or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Docetaxel is in a class of chemotherapy medications called taxanes. It stops cancer cells from growing and dividing and may kill them. The addition of bevacizumab to standard chemotherapy or combination therapy with bevacizumab and atezolizumab may be better than standard chemotherapy plus cetuximab in treating patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancers. Read Less