Cisplatin Treatment Options in Minnesota

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and docetaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Cisplatin and docetaxel may make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) together with radiation therapy before surgery may shrink the tumor so it can be removed. Giving chemotherapy after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. It is not yet known whether giving cisplatin and docetaxel together with radiation therapy is more effective than giving cisplatin together with docetaxel in treating non-small cell lung cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying cisplatin, docetaxel, and radiation therapy to see how well they work compared to cisplatin and docetaxel in treating patients who are undergoing surgery for newly diagnosed stage III 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. It is not yet known which combination chemotherapy regimen is more effective for urinary tract cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of cisplatin plus gemcitabine with or without paclitaxel in treating patients who have stage IV urinary tract cancer. 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 if radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy kills more tumor cells than radiation therapy alone in treating cancer of the vulva. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to determine the effectiveness of radiation therapy with or without cisplatin in treating patients who have stage I, stage II, or stage III cancer of the vulva. Read Less

This phase I trial studies the side effects, best way to give, and best doses of tanespimycin with or without gemcitabine hydrochloride and cisplatin in treating patients with advanced solid tumors. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as tanespimycin, gemcitabine hydrochloride, and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Using more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. Read Less

Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining tipifarnib with gemcitabine and cisplatin in treating patients who have stage III or stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy such as gemcitabine and cisplatin use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Tipifarnib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for tumor cell growth. Combining tipifarnib with combination chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. 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 which chemotherapy regimen is more effective for ovarian or peritoneal cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of two regimens of paclitaxel plus cisplatin in treating patients who have residual disease after surgery to remove stage III or stage IV ovarian cancer or primary peritoneal 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 and giving drugs in different ways may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether intravenous two-drug combination chemotherapy is more effective than intravenous and intraperitoneal infusions of three-drug combination chemotherapy for treating primary peritoneal or stage III epithelial ovarian cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of intravenous two-drug combination chemotherapy with intravenous and intraperitoneal three-drug combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have primary peritoneal or stage III epithelial ovarian cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Paclitaxel and cisplatin may increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy by making the tumor cells more sensitive to radiation. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of radiation therapy to the pelvis plus paclitaxel and cisplatin in treating patients who have cervical 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 doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying peripheral stem cell transplantation with treated peripheral stem cells following combination chemotherapy to see how well it works compared to peripheral stem cell transplantation with untreated peripheral stem cells following combination chemotherapy in treating patients with neuroblastoma. 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

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Estrogen can stimulate the growth of tumor cells. Hormone therapy using tamoxifen and megestrol may fight endometrial cancer by blocking the absorption of estrogen. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy is more effective than hormone therapy in treating endometrial cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with that of hormone therapy in treating patients who have recurrent, stage III, or stage IV endometrial cancer. 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 sargramostim 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 sargramostim in treating patients who have advanced, persistent, or recurrent cancer of the uterus. Read Less