Cisplatin Treatment Options in Kansas City, MO

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as ifosfamide, cisplatin, paclitaxel, and vinblastine, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known whether ifosfamide and cisplatin are more effective when combined with paclitaxel or vinblastine in treating germ cell tumors. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and cisplatin to see how well they work compared to vinblastine, ifosfamide, and cisplatin in treating men with progressive or recurrent metastatic germ cell tumors. Read Less

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

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: Monoclonal antibodies, such as cetuximab, 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. Cetuximab may also stop the growth of esophageal cancer by blocking blood flow to the tumor and by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and irinotecan, 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. Giving cetuximab together with combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving cetuximab together with combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy works in treating patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. 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, such as cisplatin, 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. Vandetanib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It is not yet known whether giving chemotherapy together with radiation therapy is more effective with or without vandetanib in treating patients with head and neck cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying giving chemotherapy together with radiation therapy to see how well it works compared with giving chemotherapy and radiation therapy together with vandetanib in treating patients with high-risk 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 more than one chemotherapy drug with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy in treating patients with stage III or stage IV cancer of the hypopharynx or tongue. Read Less

This is a phase II study comparing the effects of lapatinib versus placebo when administered concurrently with cisplatin and radiotherapy followed by 1 year monotherapy with lapatinib or placebo. The study is designed to evaluate and compare the two treatment groups with respect to complete response rate at 6 months following chemoradiation completion. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Thalidomide may stop the growth of tumor cells by stopping blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known if combination chemotherapy is more effective with or without thalidomide for multiple myeloma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with or without thalidomide in treating patients who have refractory multiple myeloma. Read Less