Carboplatin Treatment Options in Kentucky

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies such as rituximab can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. It is not yet known whether combination chemotherapy is more effective with or without rituximab for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with or without rituximab in treating patients who have relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 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. Colony-stimulating factors such as filgrastim may increase the number of immune cells found in bone marrow or peripheral blood and may help a person's immune system recover from the side effects of chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy plus filgrastim in treating patients who have previously untreated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. 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

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. PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to study the effectiveness of two different combination chemotherapy regimens in treating patients who have stage IIIB or stage IV non-small cell lung cancer Read Less

The purpose of this noncomparative study is to obtain preliminary estimates of the efficacy of erlotinib and standard chemotherapy in patients with advanced, previously untreated nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) of 2. The study will also evaluate the safety of single-agent erlotinib in this patient population. Read Less

This will be the first prospective study where patients will be selected on the basis of two measures of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway. The study will assess prospectively the efficacy of erlotinib as a single agent or intercalated with chemotherapy in highly selected patients with EGFR overexpression and/or EGFR amplification. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use 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. Combining more than one chemotherapy drug with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of radiation therapy and chemotherapy consisting of carboplatin, etoposide and paclitaxel in treating patients with newly diagnosed stage III non-small cell lung cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: The general results of combining irinotecan and platin-based chemotherapies have been very encouraging. As the toxicity profile associated with carboplatin is preferable over cisplatin it is our expectation that patients and physicians would prefer to use this combination if it is equally or more efficacious. To date there has been no agreement regarding the optimal combination of these agents. Based on the trials described in the protocol and our experience with carboplatin/irinotecan in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer the present trial will utilize a 21-day cycle of irinotecan 50 mg/m2 given on days 1 and 8 and carboplatin AUC 5 (based on the Calvert formula) on day 1. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving irinotecan together with carboplatin works as first-line therapy in treating patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Read Less

This study evaluates the use of Targretin capsules (bexarotene) in combination with standard chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) in patients who have not yet received chemotherapy for their lung cancer. Read Less