Cisplatin Treatment Options in Oregon

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare different combination chemotherapy regimens in treating patients who have advanced bladder 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 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 panitumumab, 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. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and docetaxel, work in different ways to kill tumor cells or stop them from growing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving combination chemotherapy together with panitumumab and radiation therapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving panitumumab together with docetaxel, cisplatin, radiation therapy, and surgery works in treating patients with newly diagnosed, locally advanced esophageal cancer or cancer of the gastroesophageal junction. 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 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

The main purpose of this study is to look at the cancer-free survival at two years of subjects with high risk upper tract urothelial cancer when treated with the combination of two chemotherapy drugs called Gemcitabine and Cisplatin followed by surgery to remove the kidney, all or part of the ureter (ureters are tubes made of smooth muscle fibers that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder), and a cuff of bladder where the ureter drains into the bladder. Other purposes of the study include looking at the safety of Gemcitabine and Cisplatin before surgery for this type of cancer, time to recurrence of cancer, and overall survival. Exploratory integrative tumor sequencing: The purpose of this part of the study is to test deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) in various types of samples (tissue and blood) to detect different types of cancer genetic changes in upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) to help develop future studies in UTUC. DNA and RNA contain key instructions for cell function and help determine the characteristics of each individual such as hair, eye, and skin color, height, susceptibility to diseases, and other characteristics. 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

RATIONALE: Interferon alfa may interfere with the growth of cancer cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Interleukin-2 may stimulate a person's white blood cells to kill melanoma cells. It is not yet known whether interferon alfa is more effective with or without combination chemotherapy and interleukin-2 for melanoma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of interferon alfa with or without combination chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine, plus interleukin-2, in treating patients who have melanoma. 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. Chemoprotective drugs such as dexrazoxane may protect normal cells from the side effects of chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Phase III trial to study the effectiveness of three combination chemotherapy regimens plus dexrazoxane in treating patients who have newly diagnosed nonmetastatic osteosarcoma. 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. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known which chemotherapy regimen is more effective when combined with radiation therapy for treating medulloblastoma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare two combination chemotherapy treatments plus radiation therapy in treating children with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma. 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 radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of etoposide plus radiation therapy followed by combination chemotherapy in treating children with newly diagnosed advanced medulloblastoma. Read Less