Active clinical trials for "Neoplasms"

In patients with cancer of the head and neck and rectum, knowing the exact location of the tumor is important for designing the radiation field to ensure delivery of high dose of radiation to the tumor while sparing surrounding normal tissues. A new medical imaging method which is a combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scan, has shown promise in helping the radiation oncologist in defining the exact location and extent of the tumor in certain cancers such as lung cancers. Therefore the purpose of this study is to determine if these imaging methods can be used in combination with the standard radiation treatment planning procedure to improve the accuracy to targeting your tumor with radiation. In addition the PET-CT scan, similar to the PET scan alone with better resolution, can be used to determine whether the tumor has spread to any part of the body outside of the head and neck sites.

The purpose of the study is to describe the regional and global FDG-kinetics in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) during percutaneous radiation therapy.

To describe the charactersitics of patients with advanced head and neck cancer treated with palliative intent and determine outcome in terms of symptom control and toxicity

Patients affected with non-Hodgkin's large B-cell lymphoma are treated by chemotherapy. The evaluation of the response to this treatment is made by Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT) in many centres where this technology is available. Presently PET scans and CT scans are being performed before treatment, after 4 cycles of chemotherapy and a few months after the end of treatment. The goal of this study is to determine if it is possible to evaluate the efficiency of chemotherapy treatments after one cycle of treatment instead of waiting after 4 cycles, using a new scanner that combines PET and CT modalities. Data available from studies on these combined exams suggest that PET/CT helps to rapidly evaluate the response of the chemotherapy treatment. We also want to verify if some pathological characteristics measured from tumor cells will enable doctors to predict in advance the response to treatment.

The main objective of this pilot study is to observe and document the range of changes in the blood concentrations of certain hormones, inflammatory chemicals and immune chemicals in response to the stimulus of Head and Neck cancer

Older individuals account for one-third of new cancer cases and cancer-related deaths in the United States. Older individuals are more susceptible to having a decrease in physical and mental function following chemotherapy treatment. Geriatric assessment may provide a way to identify those older individuals at greatest risk of functional decline before treatment starts and during the period of treatment. Geriatric assessment includes a set of screening questions and tests designed to determine the physical and mental status of the individual at a point in time. Geriatric assessment also includes review of medications and other medical conditions the individual may have that may affect function. The investigators are conducting this study to determine if older individuals are able to complete the geriatric assessment using a computer format and how that corresponds to their treating physician's assessment of their functional status before and after starting a new chemotherapy treatment for colon, rectal, breast or lung cancer. The investigators will also evaluate the usefulness of a computerized form of geriatric assessment.

Design: this is a pilot study of infrared imaging of cutaneous lesions in patients and volunteers with and without clinically detectable melanoma, and with one or more palpable cutaneous lesions eligible for this imaging study. Participants will be evaluated with infrared camera imaging at cutaneous sites with known melanoma deposits, suspected melanoma deposits that are to be biopsied, or at cutaneous sites with other lesions, including other skin cancers, benign inflammatory lesions, benign neoplastic lesions (lipomas, epidermal cysts, dermatofibromas, scar, healing wound, etc.).

In this research study, the investigators are testing a new type of breast camera, called Molecular Breast Imaging, to see if it can find tumors in the subject's breast.

The purpose of this study is to collect a blood sample in patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).

This laboratory study is using gene expression profiling to identify different categories of Wilms tumors. Studying the genes expressed in samples of tumor tissue from patients with cancer may help doctors identify biomarkers related to cancer.