Carboplatin Treatment Options in Florida

Optimal management of patients with advanced NSCLC and with PS 2 remains controversial and underrepresented in clinical trials, typically accounting for 5 to 10% of enrolled patients. Patient PS 2 proportion in population-based studies is considerably higher than that included in clinical trials. Management of patients with PS of 2 in clinical practice is empirical and inconsistent. Patients have median overall survival of 3 to 5 months in randomized trials, and treatment options include best supportive care, single-agent and combination chemotherapy. Retrospective studies have suggested that patients PS 2 may benefit from first-line chemotherapy in terms of symptom improvement and overall survival. In many of these studies, single-agent chemotherapy was compared with best supportive care alone. Data on the role of cisplatin-based combinations for patients with PS 2 is more scant, with one study questioning its benefit, and another interrupting accrual because of undue toxicity. With regards to carboplatin, the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) study 9730 compared paclitaxel plus carboplatin versus paclitaxel alone in a subgroup of 107 patients with PS 2; the median overall survival was significantly longer in group treated with combination chemotherapy (4.7 versus 2.4 months). Combination chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel also produced a statistically significantly higher incidence of severe hematological and non-hematological toxicities. On the basis of aforementioned results, a recent European panel stated that carboplatin-based or low-dose cisplatin-based doublets might represent alternative options to single-agent chemoterapy in patients PS 2. Outside clinical trials, single-agent chemotherapy with a 3rd generation agent remains valid option for patients PS2. Results demonstrate that pemetrexed is an agent with established single-agent activity in NSCLC, and suggest it is a potential candidate for combinations with platinum and other agents currently utilized for patients with advanced NSCLC. Favorable toxicity profile of pemetrexed suggests that this agent is an ideal candidate for single agent testing and in combination among patients with PS 2. Substantial doubt remains in the comparative benefit from monotherapy versus combination. Starting dose and schedule of pemetrexed were set for this study based on its current labeling in the 2nd line treatment of metastatic NSCLC and 1st line treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy used to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy alone is more effective than chemotherapy plus peripheral stem cell transplantation for ovarian epithelial cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of paclitaxel and carboplatin with that of carboplatin, mitoxantrone, and cyclophosphamide followed by peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have persistent stage III or stage IV ovarian epithelial cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from tumor tissue may make the body build an immune response and kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of vaccine therapy in treating patients who have stage III or stage IV ovarian epithelial cancer. Read Less

In this randomized trial, we will investigate the activity and toxicity of two active regimens, gemcitabine/irinotecan and paclitaxel/carboplatin/Etoposide (both followed by ZD1839) in the first-line treatment of patients with carcinoma of unknown primary site. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known if surgery plus combination chemotherapy is more effective than surgery alone for non-small cell lung cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of surgery with or without combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have non-small cell lung cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as carboplatin, paclitaxel, gemcitabine, and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Giving chemotherapy before radiation therapy, and combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy, may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of neoadjuvant gemcitabine, paclitaxel, and carboplatin followed by cisplatin and radiation therapy in treating patients who have locally advanced or recurrent carcinoma (cancer) of the urothelium. Read Less

This proposed phase II trial will investigate the combination of topotecan/carboplatin in the first-line treatment of patients with extensive-stage SCLC. Topotecan/platinum regimens are emerging as common treatments for patients with extensive-stage disease. This trial will be one of the first clinical trials to evaluate a combination of weekly topotecan and carboplatin in the first-line treatment of extensive-stage SCLC. Read Less

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of BMS-247550 when given together with carboplatin in treating patients with recurrent or refractory solid tumors. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells Read Less

Primary objective to determine the maximal tolerated (MTD) of dasatinib in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin during the first cycle of treatment. Secondary objectives to describe the toxicity of this combination of therapy; to describe the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics parameters related to this combination; to describe the clinical activity as defined as the response rate (complete and partial response rate) and progression-free survival \> 6 month; to compare the SRC pathway microarray signature in pre and post-treatment cancer specimens; to evaluate SRC pathway downstream substrates, FAX, paxcillin, and CRK-L in pre and post-treatment cancer specimens. Read Less

The purpose of this clinical trial was to determine whether combining iniparib (BSI-201) with standard chemotherapy in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative metastatic breast cancer patients improve clinical benefit compared to treatment with standard chemotherapy alone. Based on data generated by BiPar/Sanofi, it was concluded that iniparib does not possess characteristics typical of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor class. The exact mechanism has not yet been fully elucidated, however based on experiments on tumor cells performed in the laboratory, iniparib is a novel investigational anti-cancer agent that induces gamma-H2AX (a marker of DNA damage) in tumor cell lines, induces cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase in tumor cell lines, and potentiates the cell cycle effects of DNA damaging modalities in tumor cell lines. Investigations into potential targets of iniparib and its metabolites are ongoing. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating women who have breast cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have ovarian epithelial cancer. Read Less