Cancer Clinical Trials in Pittsburgh, PA

This phase III trial compares the effect of adding surgery to a standard of care immunotherapy-based drug combination versus a standard of care immunotherapy-based drug combination alone in treating patients with kidney cancer that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, and avelumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Axitinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Surgery to remove the kidney, called a nephrectomy, is also considered standard of care; however, doctors who treat kidney cancer do not agree on its benefits. It is not yet known if the addition of surgery to an immunotherapy-based drug combination works better than an immunotherapy-based drug combination alone in treating patients with kidney cancer. 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 the effect of sacituzumab govitecan in treating patients with HER2-negative breast cancer that has spread to the brain (brain metastases). Sacituzumab govitecan is a monoclonal antibody, called sacituzumab, linked to a chemotherapy drug, called govitecan. Sacituzumab is a form of targeted therapy because it attaches to specific molecules on the surface of cancer cells, known as Trop-2 receptors, and delivers govitecan to kill them. Giving sacituzumab govitecan may shrink the cancer in the brain and/or extend the time until the cancer gets worse. Read Less

This clinical trial is aimed at the evaluation of the safety and clinical activity of tiragolumab in combination with carboplatin, pemetrexed and atezolizumab in the first line treatment of metastatic non-squamous NSCLC patients with asymptomatic untreated brain metastases. Read Less

This protocol seeks to analyze patient outcomes of the standard of care, monitored group exercise regimen of high-load resistance training and functional exercises with compound movements in conjunction with a nutrition regimen focused on food quality under close supervision on women who have been treated for breast cancer. Read Less

This phase II trial studies how well lower-dose chemotherapy plus radiation (chemoradiation) therapy works in comparison to standard-dose chemoradiation in treating patients with early-stage anal cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as mitomycin, fluorouracil, and capecitabine, 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. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Giving chemotherapy with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. This study may help doctors find out if lower-dose chemoradiation is as effective and has fewer side effects than standard-dose chemoradiation, which is the usual approach for treatment of this cancer type. 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 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 prospective study recruits patients with ER+/HER2-, non-metastatic breast cancer who omit upfront surgery in favor of primary endocrine therapy for sample collection and prospective circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) measurement to guide disease surveillance. Read Less

Previous research suggests that children and adolescents with cancer are at heightened risk of late effects that can occur months or years after cancer treatment, yet little is known about programs that increase their return for follow-up cancer care and late effects surveillance. This study will evaluate the impact of an electronic personal health record and education system, SurvivorLink, for pediatric cancer survivors and their caregivers. The researchers will develop a standardized intervention and training for the SurvivorLink trial, followed by conducting a Hybrid Type 1 effectiveness-implementation, clustered randomized, waitlist control trial to evaluate the impact of SurvivorLink on pediatric cancer patients' one year follow-up visits and completion of screening tests. The study will also assess the impact of SurvivorLink on caregiver's patient activation, survivor's and caregiver's quality of life, and self-efficacy to manage a chronic condition. This study will provide the evidence base about the effects of the system to improve follow-up care for children and adolescents with cancer and best practices for implementation for pediatric cancer centers. Read Less

The purpose of this research study is to determine whether a sterile bacteria wall chemical, called lipopolysaccharide (LPS), can be injected safely into abdominal tumors during routine laparoscopic surgery performed as a preliminary procedure in patients who will subsequently undergo a larger planned operation to remove abdominal tumors. The researchers will biopsy the tumor before injection and then again at the time of the larger operation to assess whether any effect of the treatment can be measured. Read Less

This is trial studying the safety of adaptive stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) combined with durvalumab immunotherapy, platinum chemotherapy, and etoposide chemotherapy in platinum refractory extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Read Less