Paclitaxel Treatment Options in Minnesota

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. Biological therapies use different ways to stimulate the immune system and stop cancer cells from growing. It is not yet known which treatment regimen is more effective in treating metastatic prostate cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with that of chemotherapy plus biological therapy in treating patients who have progressive or metastatic prostate cancer that has not responded to hormone therapy. 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, such as paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block cancer growth in different ways. Some block the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. Others find cancer cells and help kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them. It is not yet known whether paclitaxel works better with or without bevacizumab in treating breast cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is to see if paclitaxel works better with or without bevacizumab in treating patients who have locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. 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. Combining more than one chemotherapy drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of carboplatin combined with paclitaxel in treating patients who have advanced thymoma. 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: 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

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 metastatic or recurrent salivary gland cancer. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to compare whether there is a delay or prevention of recurrence or death in participants with surgically removed pancreatic cancer who then take nab-Paclitaxel in combination with gemcitabine compared to those who take gemcitabine alone. Read Less

This phase I trial studies the best dose and side effects of paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation (nab-paclitaxel)/rituximab-coated nanoparticle AR160 in treating patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that has come back (relapsed) or is not responding to treatment (refractory). Nab-paclitaxel/rituximab-coated nanoparticle AR160 is a combination of paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation and rituximab. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Immunotherapy with rituximab, may induce changes in body's immune system and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation and rituximab may work better in treating patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 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