Carboplatin Treatment Options in Pennsylvania

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

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Colony-stimulating factors such as thrombopoietin and G-CSF 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 I trial to study the effectiveness of colony-stimulating factors in treating children who have recurrent or refractory solid tumors and who are receiving chemotherapy. Read Less

This is a clinical research study to evaluate if chemotherapy in the experimental arm (E) results in a better outcome compared to patients in the standard of care arm (C). 2:1 randomization to experimental arm (E) or standard arm (C). In arm E, treatment of dual-agent chemotherapy will be selected based on RRM1 and ERCC1 expression at the protein level. In arm C, treatment of dual-agent chemotherapy will be gemcitabine/carboplatin, i.e., standard of care. 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 randomized phase II trial studies how well carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab work with or without erlotinib hydrochloride in treating non-smokers with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as carboplatin and paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Erlotinib hydrochloride may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known whether giving combination chemotherapy together with bevacizumab is more effective with or without erlotinib hydrochloride in treating patients with non-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 chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctors to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy plus peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating infants with malignant brain or spinal cord tumors. 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 use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Calcitriol may help solid tumor cells develop into normal cells. Combining calcitriol with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of calcitriol combined with carboplatin in treating patients who have advanced solid tumors. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. A bone marrow or peripheral stem cell transplant using stem cells from the patient may be able to replace blood-forming cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy. This may allow more chemotherapy to be given so that more tumor cells are killed. PURPOSE: This phase III trial is studying how well giving combination chemotherapy with or without etoposide followed by an autologous stem cell transplant works in treating young patients with previously untreated malignant brain tumors. Read Less