Dexamethasone Treatment Options in Chicago, IL

This phase II trial is studying how well giving combination chemotherapy together with alemtuzumab works in treating patients with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 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) may kill more cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies, such as alemtuzumab, can block cancer growth in different ways. Some block the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. Others find cancer cells and help kill them or carry cancer-killing substances to them. Giving combination chemotherapy together with alemtuzumab may kill more cancer cells. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage cancer cells. Combining chemotherapy and radiation therapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy and radiation therapy and kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known which treatment regimen is more effective for multiple myeloma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of melphalan, total-body irradiation, and peripheral stem cell transplantation with that of combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have previously untreated multiple myeloma. 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: Chemotherapy plus interferon alfa may be effective for primary systemic amyloidosis. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of dexamethasone plus interferon alfa in treating patients who have primary systemic amyloidosis. Read Less

This is a Phase 1/2 study evaluating the safety and anti-tumor activity of PD 0332991 in combination with Velcade® \[bortezomib\] and dexamethasone in patients who have received at least one previous treatment for multiple myeloma. Read Less

Patients scheduled to have foot and ankle surgery will typically receive a single shot sciatic nerve block to serve as the primary anesthetic and as part of a multi-modal post-operative analgesic plan. The investigators are investigating the use of perineural dexamethasone together with local anesthetics can improve the quality of recovery for patients receiving sciatic nerve blocks for foot and ankle surgery. Read Less

This phase I/II clinical trial is studying the side effects and best dose of gamma-secretase inhibitor RO4929097 and to see how well it works in treating young patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors, CNS tumors, lymphoma, or T-cell leukemia. Gamma-secretase inhibitor RO4929097 may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy in treating children who have newly diagnosed 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. Combining more than one drug and combining drugs in different ways may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of chemotherapy in treating children who have very high risk 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. Combining more than one drug may kill more cancer cells. Bone marrow transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy and kill more cancer cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, and radiation therapy in treating infants with 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 more than one drug may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy consisting of methotrexate and cyclophosphamide in treating children who have stage III or stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or 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. Thalidomide may stop the growth of cancer by stopping blood flow to the tumor. Combining dexamethasone and thalidomide may kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known whether dexamethasone is more effective with or without thalidomide in treating multiple myeloma. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to determine the effectiveness of dexamethasone with or without thalidomide in treating patients who have multiple myeloma. Read Less