Cyclophosphamide Treatment Options in Kansas City, MO

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies such as rituximab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining rituximab with combination chemotherapy may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining rituximab with combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have previously untreated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Read Less

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether breast cancer tumors respond (as measured by pathologic complete response: the absence of microscopic evidence of invasive tumor cells in the breast) to combined chemotherapy of AC(doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide) followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab or lapatinib or both given before surgery to patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. Trastuzumab will also be given to all patients after surgery. The study will also evaluate the toxic effects of the chemotherapy combination, including effects on the heart, and will determine survival and progression-free survival 5 years after treatment. Also, the study will look at whether there are gene expression profiles in the tumor tissue that can predict pathologic complete response. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving more than one drug may kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known which combination chemotherapy regimen is more effective in treating childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is comparing different combination chemotherapy regimens to see how well they work in treating children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Read Less

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from a person's melanoma cells may make the body build an immune response to kill tumor cells. Interferon alfa may interfere with the growth of the cancer cells. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of melanoma vaccine with that of interferon alfa-2b in treating patients who have stage III melanoma that has spread to regional lymph nodes following surgery. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy), and giving the drugs in different combinations may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well combination chemotherapy works in treating patients with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with bone marrow transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with or without bone marrow transplantation in treating patients who have acute lymphocytic leukemia. 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

This phase II trial studies how well giving imatinib mesylate together with chemotherapy and peripheral stem cell transplantation works in treating patients with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Imatinib mesylate may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for cancer cell growth. Giving imatinib mesylate together with chemotherapy and peripheral stem cell transplantation may be an effective treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving combination chemotherapy before surgery may shrink the tumor so that it can be removed. Giving combination chemotherapy after surgery may kill any remaining tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well surgery and/or combination chemotherapy work in treating children with fibrosarcoma. 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. Combination chemotherapy plus surgery may be an effective treatment for neuroblastoma. PURPOSE: This phase III trial is studying how well combination chemotherapy followed by surgery works in treating young patients with neuroblastoma. 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 cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow doctors to give higher doses of chemotherapy and kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating children who have recurrent or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Read Less