Cisplatin Treatment Options in Newark, NJ

There are two study questions we are asking in this randomized phase II/III trial based on a blood biomarker, Epstein Barr virus (EBV) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for locoregionally advanced non-metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer. All patients will first undergo standard concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. When this standard treatment is completed, if there is no detectable EBV DNA in their plasma, then patients are randomized to either standard adjuvant cisplatin and fluorouracil chemotherapy or observation. If there is still detectable levels of plasma EBV DNA, patients will be randomized to standard cisplatin and fluorouracil chemotherapy versus gemcitabine and paclitaxel. Radiation therapy uses high energy x rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, fluorouracil, gemcitabine hydrochloride, and paclitaxel work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known whether giving cisplatin and fluorouracil is more effective than gemcitabine hydrochloride and paclitaxel after radiation therapy in treating patients with nasopharyngeal cancer. Read Less

The primary aim of this randomized phase III trial was to study whether the addition of maintenance chemotherapy delivered after surgical resection and focal radiation would be better than surgery and focal radiation alone. The trial also studied if patients who received induction chemotherapy and then either achieved a complete response or went on to have a complete resection would also benefit from maintenance chemotherapy. Children ages 1-21 years with newly diagnosed intracranial ependymoma were included. There were 2 arms that were not randomized. One arm studied patients with Grade II tumors located in the supratentorial compartment that were completely resected. One arm studied patients with residual tumor and those patients all received maintenance chemotherapy after focal radiation. Chemotherapy drugs, such as vincristine sulfate, carboplatin, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Specialized radiation therapy that delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. Giving chemotherapy in combination with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells and allow doctors to save the part of the body where the cancer started. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial is studying two different combination chemotherapy regimens to compare how well they work in treating young patients with newly diagnosed supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors or high-risk medulloblastoma when given before additional intense chemotherapy followed by peripheral blood stem cell rescue. It is not yet known which combination chemotherapy regimen is more effective when given before a peripheral stem cell transplant in treating supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors or medulloblastoma. Read Less

This phase II trial studies how well radiation therapy with or without cisplatin works in treating patients with stage III-IVA squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who have undergone surgery. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known if radiation therapy is more effective with or without cisplatin in treating patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Read Less

This pilot clinical trial studies busulfan, melphalan, and stem cell transplant after chemotherapy in treating patients with newly diagnosed neuroblastoma that is likely to come back or spread. Giving chemotherapy to the entire body before a stem cell transplant stops the growth of tumor cells by stopping them from dividing or killing them. After treatment, stem cells are collected from the patient's blood and stored. More chemotherapy or radiation therapy is given to prepare the bone marrow for the stem cell transplant. The stem cells are then returned to the patient to replace the blood-forming cells that were destroyed by the chemotherapy. Read Less

This phase III clinical trial is studying how well cisplatin-based chemotherapy and/or surgery works in treating young patients with stage I, stage II, stage III or stage IV adrenocortical cancer. 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. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. Giving chemotherapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Giving it after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial studies chemoembolization and sorafenib tosylate to see how well they work compared with chemoembolization alone in treating patients with liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as doxorubicin hydrochloride, mitomycin, and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Chemoembolization kills tumor cells by carrying drugs directly into blood vessels near the tumor and then blocking the blood flow to allow a higher concentration of the drug to reach the tumor for a longer period of time. Kinase inhibitors, such as sorafenib tosylate may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the action of an abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply. It is not yet known whether giving chemoembolization together with sorafenib tosylate is more effective than chemoembolization alone in treating patients with liver cancer. Read Less

This is a non-randomized, open-label phase II clinical trial that studies the effect of reduced dose radiation therapy and chemotherapy after surgery in treating patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) caused throat cancer. Giving reduced dose radiation therapy and chemotherapy after surgery may improve quality of life compared with standard of care primary chemoradiation approach without compromising survival. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial studies gemcitabine hydrochloride, cisplatin, and bevacizumab to see how well they work compared with gemcitabine hydrochloride and cisplatin in treating patients with urinary tract cancer that has spread to other places in the body. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine hydrochloride and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Immunotherapy with bevacizumab, may induce changes in body's immune system and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. It is not yet known whether gemcitabine hydrochloride and cisplatin are more effective when given with or without bevacizumab in treating patients with urinary tract cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel and cisplatin, 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 II trial is studying how well giving docetaxel together with cisplatin works in treating patients with stage III or stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial is studying combination chemotherapy followed by surgery and two different combination chemotherapy regimens with or without PEG-interferon alfa-2b to compare how well they work in treating patients with osteosarcoma. 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. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. Biological therapies, such as PEG-interferon alfa-2b, may interfere with the growth of tumor cells. Giving combination chemotherapy before surgery may shrink the tumor so it can be removed. Giving combination chemotherapy together with PEG-interferon alfa-2b after surgery may kill any remaining tumor cells. It is not yet known whether giving combination therapy together with PEG-interferon alfa-2b is more effective than two different combination chemotherapy regimens alone after surgery in treating osteosarcoma. Read Less

This randomized phase II trial studies radiation therapy and cisplatin to see how well they work compared with radiation therapy alone in treating patients with endometrial cancer that has come back. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays and other types of radiation to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known whether giving radiation therapy together with cisplatin is more effective than radiation therapy alone in treating patients with endometrial cancer. Read Less