Dexamethasone Treatment Options in Iowa

This study is designed to decrease toxicity associated with prior tandem transplant protocols by reducing the intensity of induction, consolidation and maintenance therapy, while increasing event-free survival by adding bortezomib (Velcade®), thalidomide, gemcitabine and carmustine to the transplant regimens to down-regulate the rescue of myeloma cells by the micro-environment and to prevent DNA repair post high-dose alkylating agent therapy. By reducing drug resistance, it is hoped that 3-year event-free survival will be increased significantly when compared to Total Therapy II. Additionally, participants will have the option of providing biospecimens for a sub-study evaluating gene expression profiling at specific timepoints to better understand drug-resistance in myeloma, and to determine whether there are genes or gene products in the resistant population that can be targeted by novel therapies. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial is studying different chemotherapy regimens given with or without radiation therapy to compare how well they work in treating children with newly diagnosed Hodgkin's disease. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving the drugs in different combinations may kill more cancer cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage cancer cells. It is not yet known if chemotherapy is more effective with or without additional chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy in treating Hodgkin's disease. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in 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. Giving combination chemotherapy together with radiation therapy may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well giving chemotherapy together with radiation therapy works in treating patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia that has relapsed in the CNS and/or testes. 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 giving them in different ways may kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known which regimen of combination chemotherapy is more effective for acute lymphoblastic leukemia PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare different regimens of combination chemotherapy in treating children who have 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. Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining combination chemotherapy with monoclonal antibody therapy may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy plus rituximab in treating patients who have relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 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 and may be an effective treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy and whole-brain radiation therapy in patients with primary central nervous system non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 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 cancer cells. It is not yet known which chemotherapy regimen is more effective for metastatic colorectal cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of intrahepatic floxuridine, leucovorin, and dexamethasone with that of systemic fluorouracil and leucovorin in treating patients who have unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining radiation therapy with a corticosteroid, such as dexamethasone, may be an effective treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of radiation therapy and high-dose dexamethasone in treating older patients with primary CNS non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Read Less

RATIONALE: Gabapentin may prevent or reduce delayed nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy. It is not yet known whether gabapentin is more effective than a placebo in preventing nausea and vomiting. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying the side effects of gabapentin and to see how well it works compared with a placebo in preventing nausea and vomiting in patients receiving chemotherapy. 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 and alternating regimens of chemotherapy in treating patients who have non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or 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. 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: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radioactive substances such as strontium-89 may relieve bone pain associated with prostate cancer. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy is more effective with or without strontium-89 in treating bone metastases. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying giving chemotherapy together with strontium-89 to see how well it works compared to chemotherapy alone in treating patients with prostate cancer that has spread to the bone. Read Less