Paclitaxel Treatment Options in Chicago, IL

RATIONALE: Vaccines may help the body build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Drugs used in chemotherapy 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. Giving vaccine therapy together with bevacizumab after chemotherapy and radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying the side effects of giving BLP25 liposome vaccine together with bevacizumab after chemotherapy and radiation therapy in treating patients with newly diagnosed stage IIIA or stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. 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, radiation therapy, and surgery may kill more tumor cells. E7296 was conducted to study neoadjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative chemoradiation therapy in patients diagnosed with high-risk gastric cancer using a new neoadjuvant regimen: paclitaxel plus cisplatin. It was hypothesized that this new neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and chemoradiation therapy would be well tolerated and would have a high curative resection rate. 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 paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in treating patients with refractory metastatic germ cell tumors that have not responded to surgery or chemotherapy. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known whether methotrexate or paclitaxel is more effective in treating patients with advanced head and neck cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of methotrexate with that of paclitaxel in treating patients who have advanced head and neck cancer that cannot be treated with cisplatin. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Bevacizumab may also stop the growth of non-small cell lung cancer by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Pemetrexed disodium may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some enzymes needed for cell growth. It is not yet known whether giving bevacizumab or pemetrexed disodium alone or in combination is more effective in treating non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying bevacizumab and pemetrexed disodium alone or in combination after induction therapy to see how well they work in treating patients with advanced non-squamous non-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. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known if four-drug combination chemotherapy is more effective than two-drug combination chemotherapy in treating advanced cancer of the urothelium. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of four-drug combination chemotherapy with that of two-drug combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have advanced cancer of the urothelium. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of paclitaxel in treating patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of carboplatin and paclitaxel in treating patients with locally recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal 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 kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy in treating patients who have stage III or stage IV cancer of the larynx or stage III or stage IV cancer of the oropharynx. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving paclitaxel together with carboplatin works in treating patients with locally advanced or metastatic collecting duct renal cell cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known which regimen of chemotherapy is more effective for breast cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of two different regimens of combination chemotherapy in treating women who have stage II or stage IIIA breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes. 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 before and after surgery may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to compare the effectiveness of combining radiation therapy with two different chemotherapy regimens before and after surgery in treating patients who have esophageal cancer. Read Less