Cisplatin Treatment Options in Massachusetts

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, irinotecan, carboplatin, and etoposide, 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 radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of cisplatin and irinotecan followed by carboplatin, etoposide, and radiation therapy in treating patients who have limited-stage small cell lung cancer. Read Less

This study will compare the overall survival of participants with locally-advanced, Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) with nonsquamous cell histology. Read Less

This study will compare the effects, good and/or bad, of chemotherapy (Gemcitabine and Cisplatin) with or without the addition of the chemotherapy drug Cetuximab to find out which treatment is better. Read Less

This research study is evaluating the use of radiation therapy in combination with chemotherapy as a possible treatment for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of gastrointestinal cancer. Read Less

This research study is looking at an alternative way of delivering radiation therapy with protons. Protons are tiny particles with a positive charge that can be controlled to travel a certain distance and stop inside the body. In theory, this allows better control of where the radiation dose is delivered as compared to photons. Information from other research studies suggests that proton radiation may help to reduce unwanted side effects from radiation and allow an increase in radiation dose that increase the odds of tumor killing. The purpose of this study is to determine the safest dose of proton radiation therapy to give in combination with standard chemotherapy in participants with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Read Less

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy is more effective than combination chemotherapy in treating patients with cancer of the uterus. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying radiation therapy to see how well it works compared to combination chemotherapy in treating patients with cancer of the uterus. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy 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 more than one chemotherapy drug with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving intrathecal and systemic combination chemotherapy together with radiation therapy works in treating young patients with newly diagnosed central nervous system (CNS) atypical teratoid/rhabdoid 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 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. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of paclitaxel, cisplatin, and filgrastim combined with radiation therapy in treating patients who have locally recurrent head and neck cancer and have received previous treatment with radiation therapy. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy such as cisplatin and paclitaxel 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. Cisplatin and paclitaxel may make the tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy and may kill any tumor cells remaining after surgery. PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to study the effectiveness of cisplatin, paclitaxel, and radiation therapy with or without fluorouracil in treating patients who have stage IB, stage IIB, or stage IIIB stomach cancer that has been removed during surgery. 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 chemotherapy with radiation therapy following surgery may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of chemotherapy plus radiation therapy in treating patients who have undergone surgery for stage III or stage IV head and neck cancer. 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 chemotherapy with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effect on the body when combining irinotecan and cisplatin with radiation therapy in treating patients who have limited-stage small cell lung cancer that could not be completely removed during surgery. Read Less

Anal cancer is a relatively uncommon disease and there is currently no standard chemotherapy treatment for patients with inoperable locally recurrent or metastatic disease. The aim of this phase II study is compare two well known and largely used chemotherapy regimens - Cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil vs Carboplatin plus Paclitaxel. The result of this study will set a standard of care for this disease and provide useful information for future Phase III trials. Read Less