Cisplatin Treatment Options in Pittsburgh, PA

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as dexamethasone, cisplatin, gemcitabine, and cytarabine, work in different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Giving rituximab as maintenance therapy after stem cell transplantation may kill any remaining cancer cells. It is not yet known which salvage chemotherapy regimen is more effective before autologous stem cell transplantation in treating relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying salvage chemotherapy using dexamethasone, cisplatin, and gemcitabine to see how well it works compared to dexamethasone, cisplatin, and cytarabine given before autologous stem cell transplantation in treating patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This trial also is studying giving rituximab as maintenance therapy to see how well it works compared to no further therapy after stem cell transplantation. Rituximab was added to both salvage treatment arms for CD20+ patients in a protocol amendment in 2005. Read Less

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy (RT) uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Giving radiation therapy in different ways and combining it with chemotherapy before surgery may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known which radiation therapy regimen combined with chemotherapy with or without surgery is more effective for head and neck cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare two different radiation therapy regimens combined with cisplatin with or without surgery in treating patients who have 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. Combining more than one drug, and giving them after surgery, may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy, consisting of paclitaxel and cisplatin, given after surgery in treating patients with cancer of the esophagus or stomach. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. It is not yet known whether cisplatin plus monoclonal antibody therapy is more effective than cisplatin alone for metastatic or recurrent head and neck cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized double-blinded phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of cisplatin with or without monoclonal antibody in treating patients who have metastatic or recurrent head and neck cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. 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. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving paclitaxel, cisplatin, and cetuximab together with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying paclitaxel, cisplatin, and cetuximab to see how well they work when followed by cetuximab and two different doses of intensity-modulated radiation therapy in treating patients with HPV-associated stage III or stage IV cancer of the oropharynx that can be removed by surgery. Read Less

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as etoposide, carboplatin and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. It is not yet known which radiation therapy regimen is more effective when given together with chemotherapy in treating patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer. This randomized phase III trial is comparing different chest radiation therapy regimens to see how well they work in treating patients with limited-stage 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

The purpose of part 1 of this study is to determine the objective response rate (ORR) in stage IV NSCLC subjects treated with nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab as first line therapy. The purpose of part 2 of this study is to determine the safety and tolerability of nivolumab and ipilimumab combined with a short course of chemotherapy in first line stage IV NSCLC. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to show that Nivolumab will improve progression free survival in subjects with strongly Stage IV or Recurrent PD-L1+ non-small cell lung cancer when compared to chemotherapy Read Less

This study will evaluate the safety of adding nivolumab to several chemotherapy platforms with weekly cisplatin, high-dose cisplatin, cetuximab or radiation therapy alone. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial studies how well giving cisplatin and radiation therapy together with or without carboplatin and paclitaxel works in treating patients with cervical cancer has spread from where it started to nearby tissue or lymph nodes. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, carboplatin, and paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of \[cancer/tumor\] cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. External radiation therapy uses high-energy x rays to kill tumor cells. Internal radiation uses radioactive material placed directly into or near a tumor to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known whether giving cisplatin and external and internal radiation therapy together with carboplatin and paclitaxel kills more tumor cells. Read Less

This phase III trial is studying how well radiation therapy, amifostine, and chemotherapy work in treating young patients with newly diagnosed nasopharyngeal cancer. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs, such as amifostine, may protect normal cells from the side effects of radiation therapy. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and fluorouracil, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving radiation therapy together with amifostine and chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. Read Less