Cancer Clinical Trials in Houston, TX

Over the past three decades, the treatment of both primary and secondary liver malignancies has been improved by the development and optimization of multiple minimally invasive thermal ablative therapies. These advances have resulted in a myriad of benefits for patients including decreased morbidity, mortality, as well as increased longevity and quality of life. However, these therapies can only be performed within certain parameters. Thermal ablative techniques such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MVA) are recommended for small lesions under 3 cm due to decreased efficacy when attempting to treat larger lesions. Additionally, large vessels in close proximity to a target lesion may result in heat dissipation, termed the "heat sink" effect, and result in incomplete ablation of the lesion. Furthermore, thermal ablative techniques cause off-target damage when utilized near sensitive structures such as the diaphragm, stomach, or bowel, and if performed near thermosensitive bile ducts, can result in cholestasis . Noting these limitations, percutaneous high-dose-rate brachytherapy was brought into clinical practice by Ricke et al. in Europe in 2002 . This therapy utilizes an iridium-192 (192Ir) isotope to administer a cytotoxic dose of radiation to a target lesion. It is not susceptible to heat sink effects and can also deliver radiation with the precision necessary to cause tumor death without destroying the integrity of neighboring structures. Additionally, it can be used to treat larger tumors (\>3cm) as it is not associated the same size limitations as ablative techniques and can also be utilized to treat lesions that are not amenable to intra-arterial therapies (such as trans-arterial chemoembolization and yttrium-90 radioembolization). Since its inception, HDRBT has been evaluated through multiple studies investigating its use to treat lesions throughout the body including both primary and secondary liver malignancies such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cholangiocarcinoma, metastasis to the liver from colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer , melanoma , and breast cancer . Its use in treating lymph node metastases has also been investigated . These studies have demonstrated the feasibility, safety, and clinical effectiveness of this method, establishing it as a therapeutic option when use of thermal ablation therapies is restricted. Most studies however, have been retrospective and have been performed outside the United States. Studying this therapy will add a crucial treatment option to our current armamentarium, filling a gap in currently available therapies and additionally allowing for further investigation of the use of HDRBT in a larger and more diverse population. Read Less

This trial studies the role of the gut microbiome and effectiveness of a fecal transplant on medication-induced gastrointestinal (GI) complications in patients with melanoma or genitourinary cancer. The gut microbiome (the bacteria and microorganisms that live in the digestive system) may affect whether or not someone develops colitis (inflammation of the intestines) during cancer treatment with immune-checkpoint inhibitor drugs. Studying samples of stool, blood, and tissue from patients with melanoma or genitourinary cancer may help doctors learn more about the effects of treatment on cells, and help doctors understand how well patients respond to treatment. Treatment with fecal transplantation may help to improve diarrhea and colitis symptoms. Read Less

This is a first-in-human (FIH), Phase 1/2a, multi center, open-label, single treatment, dose escalation and expansion study designed to determine the safety and tolerability of STM-416 in patients with bladder cancer. Read Less

The Aim of this Study is to examine the feasibility of using quantitative sensory testing procedures, widely applied to the experimental study of sensory processing in humans both with and without various pain syndromes, to now characterize the psychophysical properties of neuropathic pain that has developed as a consequence of cancer therapy. Skin punch biopsies will be performed in patients with chemotherapy-induced pain to determine whether the impairment of nerve function is due to actual retraction or loss of innervation to the skin in areas affected by sensory disturbance. Read Less

This is a first-in-human, open label, Phase 1/2 study to investigate the safety and efficacy of TAS3351 in patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring an acquired C797S epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. Read Less

To look at how a digital art activity may help cancer patients improve their ability to express their distress, symptoms, and lived experience. Read Less

This study is an open-label Phase Ib (Part A) dose escalation followed by a blinded, randomized, multi cohort Phase 2a (Part B) comparison of combination vs. reference regimens. Currently study will only be enrolling the Phase 1b and the Phase 2a protocol requirements will be added to the study near completion of the Phase 1b Read Less

This is a Phase 1b open-label, multicenter study, evaluating the safety, tolerability, preliminary clinical activity, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics of ZN-c3 in combination with other drugs. Read Less

Our intent is to establish the International Registry to Improve Outcomes in Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer (IRONMAN) as a prospective, international cohort of minimum 5,000 men with advanced cancer, including men with mHSPC and M0/M1 CRPC. The goal is to establish a population-based registry and recruit patients across academic and community practices from Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Target accrual number and number of participating sites are subject to change based on accrual, funding, and interest in participation by other international sites. This cohort study will facilitate a better understanding of the variation in care and treatment of advanced prostate cancer across countries and across academia and community based practices. Detailed data will be collected from patients at study enrollment and then during follow-up, for a minimum of five years. Patients will be followed prospectively for overall survival, clinically significant adverse events, comorbidities, changes in cancer treatments, and PROMs. PROMs questionnaires will be collected at enrollment and every three months thereafter. Physician Questionnaires will be collected from all participating sites at patient enrollment, time of first change in treatment and/or one year follow-up, at each subsequent change of treatment, and discontinuation of treatment. As such, this registry will help identify the treatment sequences or combinations that optimize overall survival and PROMs for men with mHSPC and M0/M1 CRPC. By collecting blood at enrollment, time of first change in treatment and/or one year follow-up (plasma, cell free DNA, buffy coat / RNA), this registry will further identify and validate molecular phenotypes of disease that predict response and resistance to specific therapeutics. Additionally, every effort will be made to collect blood specimen at each subsequent change in treatment due to progression of disease. When feasible, existing tumor tissue may be collected for correlation with described blood based studies. All samples will be used for future research. This cohort study will provide the research community with a unique biorepository to identify biomarkers of treatment response and resistance. Read Less

This clinical trial is evaluating a drug called BT5528 alone and in combination with nivolumab in participants with advanced solid tumors historically known for expression of EphA2. The main goals of this study are to: * Find the recommended dose(s) of BT5528 that can be given safely to participants alone and in combination with nivolumab * Learn more about the side effects of BT5528 * Learn about how effective BT5528 is for the treatment of ovarian cancer, urothelial/bladder cancer, lung cancer (NSCLC), triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancer (HNSCC), and gastric/upper gastrointestinal cancer. * Learn more about BT5528 therapy alone and in combination with nivolumab. Read Less

The primary aim is to test whether abatacept, as compared to placebo, is associated with a reduction in major adverse cardiac events (MACE) among participants hospitalized with myocarditis secondary to an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). The primary outcome, MACE, is a composite of first occurrence of cardiovascular death, non-fatal sudden cardiac arrest, cardiogenic shock, significant ventricular arrythmias, significant bradyarrythmias, or incident heart failure. Read Less

The main purpose of the study is to evaluate safety and efficacy of taletrectinib (also known as AB-106 or DS-6051b) monotherapy in the treatment of advanced NSCLC. Read Less