Cancer Clinical Trials in Philadelphia, PA

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common form of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The traditional first line treatment for patients with advanced DTC after surgical resection is radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. However, less than a quarter of patients with lung metastases will achieve a complete response to RAI therapy, and this therapy carries the risk of pulmonary fibrosis and an increasingly recognized risk of secondary malignancies. Read Less

This phase II/III trial compares the addition of nivolumab to the usual treatment of paclitaxel and ramucirumab to paclitaxel and ramucirumab alone in treating patients with gastric or esophageal adenocarcinoma that may have spread from where it first started to nearby tissue, lymph nodes, or distant parts of the body (advanced). A monoclonal antibody is a type of protein that can bind to certain targets in the body, such as molecules that cause the body to make an immune response (antigens). 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. Ramucirumab is a monoclonal antibody that may prevent the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to grow. Paclitaxel is in a class of medications called antimicrotubule agents. It stops cancer cells from growing and dividing and may kill them. Adding nivolumab to ramucirumab and paclitaxel may work better to treat patients with advanced stomach or esophageal cancer. Read Less

This phase III trial compares the effect of bevacizumab and osimertinib combination vs. osimertinib alone for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer that has spread outside of the lungs (stage IIIB-IV) and has a change (mutation) in a gene called EGFR. The EGFR protein is involved in cell signaling pathways that control cell division and survival. Sometimes, mutations in the EGFR gene cause EGFR proteins to be made in higher than normal amounts on some types of cancer cells. This causes cancer cells to divide more rapidly. Osimertinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking EGFR that is needed for cell growth in this type of cancer. 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. Giving osimertinib with bevacizumab may control cancer for longer and help patients live longer as compared to osimertinib alone. Read Less

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common form of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The traditional first line treatment for patients with advanced DTC after surgical resection is radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. However, less than a quarter of patients with lung metastases will achieve a complete response to RAI therapy, and this therapy carries the risk of pulmonary fibrosis and an increasingly recognized risk of secondary malignancies. Read Less

This is a single center, prospective cross-sectional study of women who have completed therapy for primary breast cancer within 5 years of diagnosis and are at increased risk for relapse. Patients will undergo screening bone marrow aspirate to test for presence of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) Patients who harbor DTCs will be offered the opportunity for enrollment into a clinical trial of therapy targeting DTCs to prevent recurrence (separate protocols). Read Less

Research indicates that perceived stigma within medical encounters is prevalent and problematic for lung cancer patients' well-being and quality of cancer care. Promoting empathic communication appears to be a potentially effective intervention target to help reduce patients' perceptions of stigma within clinical encounters; however, no formal trainings exist that focus on teaching empathic communication to oncology care providers (OCPs). Building upon favorable findings from a prior R21 (R21CA202793) and the importance of developing interventions to address lung cancer stigma, our goal is to conduct a national trial of empathic communication skills (ECS) training to facilitate improvements in the medical and psychosocial care of patients through de-stigmatizing interactions with OCPs for patients diagnosed with lung cancer. Read Less

This phase III ALCHEMIST trial tests the addition of pembrolizumab to usual chemotherapy for the treatment of stage IIA, IIB, IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer that has been removed by surgery. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, 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 cisplatin, pemetrexed, carboplatin, gemcitabine hydrochloride, 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 pembrolizumab with usual chemotherapy may help increase survival times in patients with stage IIA, IIB, IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer. Read Less

Main Objective of this study is to examine long-term safety of nivolumab monotherapy including combinations and other cancer therapies in various tumor types. Read Less

This phase II trial studies whether adding pembrolizumab to olaparib (standard of care) works better than olaparib alone in treating patients with pancreatic cancer with germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that produce tumor suppressor proteins. These proteins help repair damaged deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and, therefore, play a role in ensuring the stability of each cell's genetic material. When either of these genes is mutated, or altered, such that its protein product is not made or does not function correctly, DNA damage may not be repaired properly. As a result, cells are more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to some types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Olaparib is an inhibitor of PARP, a protein that helps repair damaged DNA. Blocking PARP may help keep tumor cells from repairing their damaged DNA, causing them to die. PARP inhibitors are a type of targeted therapy. The addition of pembrolizumab to the usual treatment of olaparib may help to shrink tumors in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. Read Less

This is a West Philadelphia based community project to improve adherence to lung cancer screening. The overall objective of this project is to demonstrate the impact of a community support program (CSP) on improve adherence to LCS follow-up guidelines in an urban environment. The study will target individuals in the Penn Medicine healthcare system residing in Philadelphia with an upcoming or missed follow-up screening or orders placed but who have not yet scheduled their screenings by offering free transportation coordination to and from the appointment. The study team will also offer to connect those with placed but unscheduled low dose CT orders to connect with Penn Medicine's scheduling staff. Read Less

The first phase of this study was an open label, randomized pilot study. Enrollment for this phase is now complete. The second phase is a single arm phase 1 safety study. Patients planned to undergo precision hypofractionated radiation to all sites of oligoprogression will receive vancomycin for 1 week before RT and for 1 month after start of RT, and asked to provide stool and blood samples as outlined in the Safety Trial study table. Read Less

The aim of this study is to compare progression free survival (PFS) in treatment-naïve Participants with KRAS p.G12C mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) receiving sotorasib, panitumumab and FOLFIRI vs FOLFIRI with or without bevacizumab-awwb. Read Less