Paclitaxel Treatment Options in Virginia

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 and decrease the need for surgery. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by observation or surgery to remove the bladder (cystectomy) in treating patients who have stage II or stage III 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. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy used to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy alone is more effective than chemotherapy plus peripheral stem cell transplantation for ovarian epithelial cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of paclitaxel and carboplatin with that of carboplatin, mitoxantrone, and cyclophosphamide followed by peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have persistent stage III or stage IV ovarian epithelial cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from tumor tissue may make the body build an immune response and kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of vaccine therapy in treating patients who have stage III or stage IV ovarian epithelial cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Estrogen can stimulate the growth of tumor cells. Hormone therapy using tamoxifen and megestrol may fight endometrial cancer by blocking the absorption of estrogen. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy is more effective than hormone therapy in treating endometrial cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with that of hormone therapy in treating patients who have recurrent, stage III, or stage IV endometrial 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. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have metastatic or recurrent head and neck cancer. Read Less

Sorafenib is being looked at in a number of solid tumor settings including breast cancer. This trial is designed as a pilot study to assess the safety and tolerability of a novel oral agent in combination with standard chemotherapy in the treatment of early stage node positive or otherwise high-risk breast cancer. If this should prove to be a tolerable regimen for patients, this would provide rationale for further studies in a larger randomized fashion. Read Less

In this randomized trial, we will investigate the activity and toxicity of two active regimens, gemcitabine/irinotecan and paclitaxel/carboplatin/Etoposide (both followed by ZD1839) in the first-line treatment of patients with carcinoma of unknown primary site. 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 surgery plus combination chemotherapy is more effective than surgery alone for non-small cell lung cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of surgery with or without combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have non-small cell lung cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as carboplatin, paclitaxel, gemcitabine, and cisplatin, work in 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. Giving chemotherapy before radiation therapy, and combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy, may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of neoadjuvant gemcitabine, paclitaxel, and carboplatin followed by cisplatin and radiation therapy in treating patients who have locally advanced or recurrent carcinoma (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. It is not yet known whether combination chemotherapy is more effective with or without filgrastim in treating breast cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combining doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and paclitaxel with or without filgrastim in treating women who have inflammatory or locally advanced breast cancer. Read Less

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in 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 combining paclitaxel, cisplatin, and liposomal doxorubicin in treating women who have undergone surgery for stage III ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, or primary peritoneal 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. Monoclonal antibodies such as cetuximab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining more than one chemotherapy drug with a monoclonal antibody may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether cetuximab is more effective when given at the same time as chemotherapy or following chemotherapy. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying how well giving cetuximab at the same time as combination chemotherapy works compared to giving cetuximab after combination chemotherapy in treating patients with stage IIIB or stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Read Less