Paclitaxel Treatment Options in Maryland

This is a non-randomized Phase II study. Patients determined at initial diagnosis to have a carcinoma of unknown primary site (CUP) will have their treatment selected with the use of a molecular profiling assay. The assay will be performed on paraffin-embedded tumor tissue from a biopsy specimen. Patients given specific diagnoses (e.g., lung, pancreas, colon, breast, renal cell, prostate and ovarian cancer) will receive treatment regimens of proven activity. If no specific diagnosis is made with the molecular profiling assay, empiric chemotherapy with paclitaxel, carboplatin, bevacizumab and erlotinib will be administered. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Androgens can stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. Drugs such as goserelin or leuprolide may stop the adrenal glands from producing androgens. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying giving chemotherapy together with hormone therapy and radiation therapy in treating patients with locally advanced prostate cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as ifosfamide, cisplatin, paclitaxel, and vinblastine, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known whether ifosfamide and cisplatin are more effective when combined with paclitaxel or vinblastine in treating germ cell tumors. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and cisplatin to see how well they work compared to vinblastine, ifosfamide, and cisplatin in treating men with progressive or recurrent metastatic germ cell tumors. 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: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of paclitaxel with or without carboplatin in treating patients who have recurrent, stage IIIB, or stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. 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

This study will compare the overall survival of participants with locally-advanced, Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) with nonsquamous cell histology. Read Less

The primary purpose of this clinical research study is to learn if patients treated with the combination of Taxane/Carboplatin plus Cetuximab (C/T/C) have a longer progression-free survival than patients treated with Taxane/Carboplatin (T/C) alone. The safety of this treatment will also be studied. Read Less

Phase I: will look at different dose levels and regimens of everolimus combined with weekly trastuzumab and paclitaxel therapy in patients with HER-2 overexpressing metastatic breast cancer. Phase II: will assess the efficacy and safety of the 10mg daily dose of everolimus combined with weekly trastuzumab and paclitaxel therapy in patients with HER-2 overexpressing metastatic breast cancer. Read Less

This study will compare overall survival in participants with Stage IIIB or IV nonsquamous 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. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy following surgery may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of chemotherapy plus radiation therapy in treating patients who have undergone surgery for stage III or stage IV 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. Colony-stimulating factors such as filgrastim may increase the number of immune cells found in bone marrow or peripheral blood and may help a person's immune system recover from the side effects of chemotherapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of paclitaxel, cisplatin, and filgrastim combined with radiation therapy in treating patients who have locally recurrent head and neck cancer and have received previous treatment with radiation therapy. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine if EGFR status (positive or negative) by FISH can predict response to cetuximab therapy in NSCLC patients treated with carboplatin and paclitaxel Read Less