Cisplatin Treatment Options in Pennsylvania

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not known whether combining chemotherapy with bone marrow or peripheral stem cell transplantation is more effective than combination chemotherapy alone in treating men with germ cell tumors. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with or without bone marrow or peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating men with previously untreated germ cell tumors. Read Less

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: 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

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: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy plus peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating women who have metastatic breast 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 may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known which chemotherapy regimen is more effective for cervical cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of three different chemotherapy regimens in treating patients with stage IVB, recurrent, or persistent 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 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: 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. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of gemcitabine plus cisplatin in treating patients who have primary ovarian epithelial cancer or primary peritoneal cancer that is recurrent or has not responded to platinum-based chemotherapy. 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: 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. Drugs such as amifostine may protect normal cells from the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of amifostine plus chemotherapy and radiation therapy in treating patients who have limited-stage 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. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy may make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of paclitaxel and cisplatin plus radiation therapy followed by filgrastim in treating patients who have recurrent head and neck cancer or lung cancer. Read Less