Dexamethasone Treatment Options in Texas

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

The purpose of this network is to accelerate research in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation by comparing novel therapies to existing ones. Read Less

CRVO occurs when the vessels in the back of the eye become blocked. This creates a dangerous condition because the vessels are weak and prone to leakage. This results in the development of macular edema. Previous studies have shown that inflammatory mediators and growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), are elevated in patients with macular edema associated with CRVO. Ozurdex® is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is available by prescription for macular edema following CRVO and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). It is also indicated for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye. The approved dosage is 0.7 mg. Ranibizumab (Lucentis®) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is available by prescription for other eye disorders, such as wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), macular edema following CRVO or BRVO, and diabetic macular edema (DME). The approved dosage for wet AMD and macular edema following CRVO/BROV is 0.5 mg given monthly. The approved dosage for DME is 0.3 mg given monthly. Dr. Gonzalez is conducting an investigational study on the safety and effectiveness of treating CRVO-associated Macular Edema with a combination of 0.7 mg of Ozurdex® and 0.5 mg Lucentis®, given as separate injections into the eye. Read Less

The goal of this clinical research study is to find the highest tolerable dose of vorinostat that can be given with gemcitabine, busulfan, and melphalan with a stem cell transplant. Researchers also want to learn about the safety and level of effectiveness of this combination. Busulfan and melphalan are designed to kill cancer cells by binding to DNA (the genetic material of cells), which may cause cancer cells to die. Gemcitabine is designed to disrupt the growth of cancer cells, which may cause cancer cells to die. It may help to increase the effect of busulfan and melphalan on cancer cells by not allowing these cells to repair the DNA damage caused by busulfan or melphalan. Vorinostat is designed to open up the DNA and allow greater access to drugs that bind to DNA, such as gemcitabine, busulfan and melphalan. Read Less

Primary Objective: * To determine the maximum tolerated dose of the combination of cisplatin, imatinib mesylate, and pemetrexed in metastatic malignant mesothelioma. Secondary Objectives: * To explore the biologic effects of cisplatin, imatinib mesylate, and pemetrexed on tumor tissue by: * histologic analysis of biopsy tissue * by non-invasive assessments of tumor vascularity performed before, during and after treatment * electron microscopy analysis of endothelial cell architecture after patient treatment with imatinib mesylate * To explore the effects of cisplatin, imatinib mesylate, and pemetrexed on surrogate markers in serum. * To assess the rate of response to therapy. * To determine the doses of the combination regimen of cisplatin, imatinib mesylate, and pemetrexed that enables de-phosphorylation of platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGF-R) on malignant mesothelioma tumor cells. * To determine the pharmacokinetic interaction between agents in this combination regimen. Read Less

Primary Objective: 1. To compare the proportion of patients free from progression 9 months from the start of consolidation therapy with the combination of docetaxel and ZD1839 (Iressa) versus docetaxel alone. For the purposes of this protocol, "consolidation" therapy refers to treatment given at the time of maximal benefit from conventional front-line multi-agent chemotherapy. Secondary Objective: 1. To compare time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival (CSS) in the two arms. For completeness, these will be reported both from the initiation of consolidation chemotherapy, and from the completion of induction chemotherapy. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to find out what effects, good and/or bad, that ganetespib and bortezomib has on you and your cancer. The investigators will determine the side effects of different dose levels of ganetespib when given alone and the effect it has on your cancer alone. The investigators will also determine the side effects of ganetespib at different dose levels when given in combination with bortezomib and the effect the combination has on your cancer. The study will measure levels of the drug in your blood and bone marrow as well. Bortezomib is a proteasome inhibitor that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that is used for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The brand name for bortezomib is Velcade®. Ganetespib is considered "investigational" because it has not received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for general use, although it has been previously tested in humans. Read Less

The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if intensive chemotherapy, combined with imatinib mesylate (Gleevec, STI571) given for 8 courses over 6 months, followed by maintenance imatinib mesylate plus chemotherapy for 2 years, followed by imatinib mesylate indefinitely can improve Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The safety of this treatment will also be studied. Read Less

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining the monoclonal antibody rituximab with dexamethasone may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of rituximab and dexamethasone in treating patients with recurrent or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Read Less

This phase I trial studies the side effects and the best dose of temsirolimus when given together with dexamethasone, mitoxantrone hydrochloride, vincristine sulfate, and pegaspargase in treating young patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Temsirolimus may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as dexamethasone, mitoxantrone hydrochloride, vincristine sulfate, and pegaspargase work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving temsirolimus with combination chemotherapy may be and effective treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Read Less

This goal of this clinical research study is to learn if the combination of methotrexate, pegylated-L-asparaginase, vincristine, and dexamethasone (also rituximab in some patients) can help to control ALL that has not responded to previous treatment or has come back after a response or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Read Less

This multicenter clinical trial tested whether minimal ventilation decreases death or BPD. Infants with birth weight 501g to 1000g and mechanically ventilated before 12 hours were randomly assigned to minimal ventilation (partial pressure of carbon dioxide \[PCO(2)\] target \>52 mm Hg) or routine ventilation (PCO(2) target \<48 mm Hg) and a tapered dexamethasone course or saline placebo for 10 days, using a 2 x 2 factorial design. The primary outcome was death or BPD at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age. Blood gases, ventilator settings, and FiO2 were recorded for 10 days; complications and outcomes were monitored to discharge. The infants' neurodevelopment was evaluated at 18-22 months corrected age. Read Less