Carboplatin Treatment Options in Boston, MA

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 chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known which therapy regimen is most effective for treating patients with kidney tumors. PURPOSE: Phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy, surgery, and/or peripheral stem cell or bone marrow transplantation in treating young patients with kidney tumors. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial is studying carboplatin, paclitaxel, radiation therapy, and thalidomide to see how well they work compared to carboplatin, paclitaxel, and radiation therapy alone in treating patients with newly diagnosed stage III non-small cell lung cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Thalidomide may stop the growth of non-small cell lung cancer by stopping blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known if combination chemotherapy plus radiation therapy is more effective with or without thalidomide. Read Less

This phase II trial is studying how well giving trastuzumab together with ixabepilone and carboplatin works in treating patients with HER2/neu-positive metastatic breast cancer. Monoclonal antibodies, such as trastuzumab, can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as ixabepilone and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining trastuzumab with ixabepilone and carboplatin may kill more tumor cells. Read Less

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs such as carboplatin and lobradimil may make the tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combining radiation therapy with carboplatin and lobradimil in treating children who have newly diagnosed brain stem gliomas. 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. 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 children who have newly diagnosed neuroblastoma. Read Less

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies such as cetuximab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy such as carboplatin work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining cetuximab with carboplatin may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving cetuximab together with carboplatin works in treating patients with recurrent ovarian epithelial cancer or primary peritoneal cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as vinblastine and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of vinblastine when given together with carboplatin in treating young patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent low-grade glioma. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel, cisplatin, fluorouracil, and carboplatin, 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. Combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known which regimen of chemotherapy and radiation therapy is most effective in treating head and neck cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of two different regimens of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in treating patients who have stage III or stage IV head and neck cancer. Read Less

The goal of this study was to determine the effect on overall survival and progression free survival by adding iniparib (BSI-201/SAR240550) to the combination of gemcitabine/carboplatin in adult patients with triple negative breast cancer (estrogen receptor (ER)-negative, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative). Based on data generated by BiPar/Sanofi, it is 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 more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying two different combination chemotherapy regimens and comparing how well they work in treating children with low-grade astrocytomas or other residual tumors of the brain. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Lobradimil may increase the effectiveness of a chemotherapy drug by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drug. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of carboplatin and lobradimil in treating children with brain tumors that have not responded to previous treatment. 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: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of estramustine, docetaxel, and carboplatin in treating patients who have prostate cancer that has not responded to hormonal therapy. Read Less