Paclitaxel Treatment Options in Maryland

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

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

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

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

This study will test the effectiveness of an experimental treatment for peritoneal cancer involving surgical removal of the tumor, perfusion of the abdomen during surgery with a heated solution of the drug cisplatin, and post-surgery combination chemotherapy in the abdomen with fluorouracil (5-FU) and paclitaxel. Patients with certain peritoneal cancer whose tumors are confined to the abdomen may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history and physical examination, including blood tests, electrocardiogram and possibly bone scan, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and chest, abdomen and pelvic CT scans. Participants undergo surgery to remove as much tumor as possible. Part of the intestines, pancreas, stomach or the entire spleen may also be removed if they are affected. During surgery, after the tumor has been removed, two catheters (thin plastic tubes) are placed in the abdomen. A chemotherapy solution containing the anti-cancer drug cisplatin heated to a temperature of about 108.6 degrees (10 degrees above normal body temperature) is then delivered into the abdomen through one catheter and drained through another. During treatment, a drug called sodium thiosulfate is given through a vein to reduce the risk of side effects of cisplatin, particularly kidney damage. After 90 minutes of bathing the abdomen with this solution, the drug is rinsed from the abdomen and the catheters removed. Another small catheter is then placed and left inside the abdomen with one end coming out through the skin. Seven to 12 days after the operation, the anti-cancer drugs 5-FU and paclitaxel are given through this catheter. After complete recovery from the surgery, the catheter is removed and the patient is discharged from the hospital. Clinic visits are scheduled for periodic follow-up examination, imaging, and tests 3 and 6 months after surgery and every 6 months for up to 5 years as long as the disease does not worsen. Patients whose disease progresses are taken off the study and referred back to their local physician or referred for alternative care or other research studies. Patients are also asked to assess how this therapy affects their general health and well being. This will require filling out two quality-of-life (QOL) questionnaires before surgery and again at each follow-up visit after surgery. Each questionnaire takes about 15 minutes to complete. Read Less

Background: * Carboplatin-paclitaxel is a commonly used chemotherapy combination for advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and other solid tumors. In a randomized clinical trial, the combination of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and the additional chemotherapy drug bevacizumab had a better response rate and survival compared to carboplatin and paclitaxel alone. However, this trial treated only patients with a specific diagnosis and treatment risks. Further research is needed to determine whether this combination is useful for other diagnoses. * YM155 is a drug that targets a type of chemical often found in cancer cells. It has been investigated in several phase I and phase II clinical trials, and it has been shown to be well tolerated and moderately effective in treating advanced NSCLC in patients who had not responded well to one or two standard treatments. Objectives: - To determine the efficacy of the combination of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and YM155 in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer. Eligibility: - Individuals 18 years of age and older who have been diagnosed with advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma or other solid tumors for which standard therapy is not likely to be effective. Design: * Before the start of the study, participants will be screened with a medical history, blood tests, imaging scans of the affected areas, tumor biopsies, and other tests as directed by the study doctors. * Participants will be treated for six 21-day cycles, or 18 weeks of treatment. Each cycle will include blood tests and imaging studies as required. * On day 1 of each cycle, participants will receive an infusion of paclitaxel and carboplatin, followed by a 4-day infusion of YM155 (through a portable electronic infusion pump). * Participants will have a computed tomography scan or other imaging every other cycle (approximately every 6 weeks) to determine whether the therapy is affecting the cancer site. * After the sixth cycle, participants will return for follow-up visits at least every 3 months, and will be asked to remain in contact with the researchers to allow further study of the long-term effects of the treatment. Read Less

This randomized phase III trial studies carboplatin, paclitaxel, and sorafenib tosylate to see how well they work compared to carboplatin and paclitaxel in treating patients with stage III or stage IV melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as carboplatin and paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Sorafenib tosylate may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known whether giving carboplatin and paclitaxel together with sorafenib tosylate is more effective than carboplatin and paclitaxel in treating melanoma. Read Less