Active clinical trials for "Neoplasms"

This study aims to compare the safty and technical accessibility of linear stapler and curved cutter stapler during mid to low rectal cancer surgery.

RATIONALE: Collecting the T cells from a donor and transplanting them into a patient may be effective treatment for immunodeficiency syndrome and CMV infection. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying the emergency use of adoptive immunotherapy with CMV-specific T cells after donor bone marrow transplant of an infant with immunodeficiency syndrome and CMV infection.

We propose to establish a multi-center study to investigate the outcome of scoliosis and spinal abnormalities in patients with NF1. The three specific aims of this study are: Specific Aim 1 - To assess health status and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in children and adolescents with NF1 and scoliosis. We hypothesize that children and adolescents with NF1 and scoliosis will experience an additional burden of morbidity due to scoliosis and a downward trajectory of health status and HRQL over time. Specific Aim 2 - To assess the natural history and short-term response to therapy in a cohort of children with NF1 and scoliosis prospectively diagnosed during the course of the four-year study period. We hypothesize that some NF1 patients with idiopathic scoliosis will modulate to the dystrophic form. We also hypothesize that NF1 patients with earlier presentation are more likely to have or modulate to the dystrophic form. Specific Aim 3 - To assess biochemical markers of bone metabolism in NF1 individuals. We hypothesize that NF1 individuals will have statistically significant differences in biochemical markers of bone metabolism compared to controls. We also hypothesize that NF1 individuals with scoliosis will have differences in biochemical markers of bone metabolism compared to NF1 individuals without scoliosis.

Liberal use of fine needle aspiration biopsy of parotid gland masses is controversial. All information regarding this procedure has been retrospective. Our objective is to evaluate prospectively the diagnostic accuracy of the test, alone and when associated to clinical and/or radiologic data.

In recent years, more and more people are having lung CT scans performed to screen for various cancers. Many of them have small abnormalities detected, called "nodules", which - for a variety of reasons - doctors are unable to biopsy. As a result, many patients have their CT scans repeated on a regular basis to see if their nodules grow. This process can last several years. Many patients experience significant anxiety during this process, when they are aware of a spot in the lung, but are not told any specific cause. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering have developed a new way to look at lung nodules in three dimensions. The purpose of this project is to see if any change in the nodules can be detected sooner by this method than by traditional CT scans.

You may have a type of cancer associated with "antineuronal antibodies" in your blood. Antibodies are substances made by the immune system. They are used by the body to fight infections and other diseases. Antineuronal antibodies are antibodies that react with nerve cells but they also react with some tumors. We believe that the immune system makes these antibodies to fight the cancer. In some patients with these antibodies, the tumor is smaller than in patients who have no antibodies. Sometimes, with a very strong antibody test, patients may develop neurologic problems such as weakness, numbness or memory loss. One purpose of this study is to determine if a patient with cancer and a positive antineuronal antibody blood test has a smaller tumor and responds better to treatment than a patient with cancer and a negative test. Another purpose of this study is to determine whether patients with a positive antibody test develop neurologic problems such as weakness, numbness or memory loss. We will measure your blood for several different kinds of antibodies in addition to antineuronal antibodies to determine if the presence of antibodies predicts "prognosis", i.e. smaller tumor and better response to treatment, or predicts the development of neurologic problems. No tissue samples are required for this study. However, if tissue or sputum is obtained by your oncologist for diagnostic purposes, we will ask your doctors or the pathology department to provide us with samples of these specimens. This will not involve any additional surgery or discomfort to you.

Neurocognitive impairment as a result of gamma knife radiosurgery has not been well studied and is poorly understood. Radiosurgery to the base of skull for the treatment of benign and malignant disorders may consequently impair memory function. There is a need to evaluate changes in memory function that may be associated with such exposures. In this pilot study, we will investigate changes in hippocampal-dependent memory function in 10 patients receiving a low SRS dose to the hippocampus. We will also investigate such changes in a no-dose control group and a high-dose control group. This study will provide preliminary estimates of variance in memory changes associated with radiation exposure, and will then permit us to design future studies with the appropriate sample size justification.

Acquire CT data and US and transducer position data (magnetic sensor system) of focal hepatic or renal lesions to serve as sample data sets for fusion algorithm development and subsequent optimization.

The purpose of this study is to find out about the quality of life of individuals who have been diagnosed and treated for lung cancer (lung cancer survivors). By quality of life, we mean how you are feeling about different aspects of your life, including your physical health, your emotional health, and your ability to carry out daily activities. We are interested in people's opinions about their quality of life, as well as the factors that affect their quality of life. Learning about quality of life will help us to develop new services for lung cancer survivors.

This study is being done to determine if a new endoscope will help doctors identify pre-cancer or early cancer lesions in patients who have Barrett's esophagus. This new endoscope allows the doctor to look at the lining of the esophagus in 3 different ways by modifying light.