Active clinical trials for "Neoplasms"

The investigators believe that T cells, cells that are a part of the immune system, are what are causing the neurological problems while also attacking tumor cells. This protocol studies the clinical status of patients with paraneoplastic neurological disorder (PND) as well as their blood to understand the relationship between their neurological disease, their cancer, and their immune system.

HPV DNA testing by a clinician has been shown to be highly sensitive in detecting cervical disease. Can we prove that HPV self-testing will be sufficiently sensitive to detect disease in high risk population who for various reasons would not have routine pap smear screening?

Management of lung cancer remains very controversial for elderly patients (pts) and they are often excluded from clinical trials. We present here a survey performed about the management of lung cancer pts aged 70 or more in France. All pts aged 70 or more with histo/cytologically proved lung cancer diagnosed between sept 02 and oct 03 in participating centers were recorded and their characteristics, the diagnostic procedures, therapeutic management and survival were analysed.

Multiple myeloma is a disorder in which malignant plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow. These plasma cells produce an abnormal protein called paraprotein / M spike in the serum which can be serially monitored to assess the response of tumour on therapy. The paraprotein has a heavy chain which can be either IgG, IgA, IgM or IgD and a light chain which can be either kappa or lambda. At present, these can be assessed by serum and urine electrophoresis (SPE and UPE). These techniques are relatively insensitive and poorly quantitative compared with other immunoassays for tumour markers. The potential of serum free light chain (flc) measurement as a marker for myeloma has been recognised for some time. However, development of such assays has proved elusive, primarily due to the difficulty in developing assays that are both convenient to use and have the required specificity to measure flc in serum. Recently , the assay has been standardised and is in use. Its likely that the assessment of flc might be a sensitive marker of documenting complete remission in patients with myeloma. The aim of this study is to study the flc in patients with myeloma in complete remission (CR) to see if patients have CR documented by standard criteria- are the free light chains still positive and if so are they better markers of remission. The samples will be collected and tested in batches of 60 each.

Background: Melanocytic nevi, or "moles," are non-cancerous growths of a type of skin cell called a melanocyte. Large congenital melanocytic nevi (LCMN) are a special type of mole that begins to grow before birth and is larger than moles that develop after birth. Determining how melanocytes in moles and LCMNs differ from normal melanocytes may increase the ability to predict whether a mole will give rise to a melanoma (a type of skin cancer) Objectives: To understand how melanomas develop, by studying moles, LCMNs, and pigmented skin lesions that are suspicious for melanoma To develop better criteria for diagnosing melanoma, particularly by using a device called a digital dermatoscope (a special camera, connected to a computer, that takes pictures of moles when they are magnified and illuminated) Eligibility: Children 5 years old or older with an LCMN Adults 18 years old or older with 100 or more moles larger than 2 mm in diameter and at least one 4 mm or more Adults 18 years old or older with a pigmented lesion suspicious for melanoma Design: Patients' personal and family health history is obtained. Patients are examined by investigative team doctors, and several lesions are examined with a dermatoscope. Additional photographs of part or all of the skin surface may be taken. Some lesions may be biopsied. Additional tests or examinations may be recommended. Patients are followed periodically for skin or physical examinations, photography, laboratory and imaging evaluations, and possible skin biopsies. Children may undergo brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

CT-examinations are used in computer programs which are used in the planning of external radiation of cancers in the anal canal. In CT the structures of the anal canal are hardly visible. 3D-ultrasound examinations offer a better visualisation of normal and pathological structures of the anal canal. The description of the tumour made from the 3D-ultrasound examination is used in the planning of the external radiation. PET-CT is used to visualise tumour activity also in lymp nodes. The hypothesis of the study is that image fusion of PET, CT and 3D-ultrasound will offer better visualisation of tumour and hereby more accurate diagnostics and treatment.

The objectives of this study are: To identify women at increased risk for developing ovarian cancer To detect ovarian cancers at an early stage To investigate the role of tumor membrane fragments as tumor markers for early ovarian carcinoma

Mastocytosis is a disorder characterized by presence of excessive numbers of mast cells in skin, bone marrow and internal organs. It can affect both children and adults, males and females and individuals from all ethnic backgrounds, although precise demographic information about the affected populations is not available as it is a rare disorder. Mastocytosis in children is generally limited to the skin and follows a self limited course, while it is a disorder of the hematopoietic stem cell associated with somatic mutations of the c-kit gene in most patients with adult-onset of disease. There is no known curative therapy for most patients with systemic mastocytosis. Recent research studies identified several subtypes of disease with distinct clinical and pathologic features, however, a precise understanding of the incidence as well as molecular pathology of different disease subtypes is lacking. This study aims to examine molecular and cellular pathological aspects of disease in patients with mastocytosis and correlate findings with clinical presentation and prognosis. Patients will undergo a routine history and physical examination, and diagnostic tests will be ordered as dictated by each patient's clinical presentation. Blood and bone marrow will be obtained for diagnostic and research purposes. Genetic analysis of the c-kit gene regulating mast cell growth and differentiation will be performed. It is hoped that findings obtained from this study will help to design novel therapies for mastocytosis and other disorders in which mast cells play a critical role.

The objective of this study is to characterize genes associated either with susceptibility or resistance to the development nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in a Chinese population where the incidence of NPC is as high as 50 in 100,000. NPC has been and remains a unique model of human malignancy for understanding a multi-step carcinogenic process involving a ubiquitous virus (Epstein-Barr virus), environmental carcinogens, and an NPC susceptibility gene. Up to 95% of all NPC patients at early or late stage of the disease have IgA antibodies directed to the EBV virus VCA (viral capsid antigen). Environmental factors have also been implicated as significant risk factors in the development of NPC. In addition, certain alleles in HLA genes have shown associations with NPC, perhaps in concert with a family of T-cell receptor genes (TCR). Other data suggest that a microsatellite marker on Chromosome 6 may be associated with an NPC-disease associated gene.

The Polish breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer study is a complex molecular epidemiologic study that is expected to enroll about 2,500 breast cancer, 450 ovarian and 450 endometrial cancer cases and 2,500 controls from Warsaw and Lodz, two major cities in Poland. This large population-based study combines state-of-the-art techniques of exposure assessment and collection of biological specimens to allow for the study of a wide range of biomarkers. Exposure information is obtained through detailed personal interviews, anthropometric measurements, physical activity monitors, and collection of dust samples from the participants homes. The collection of biological specimens includes blood samples processed as cryopreserved whole blood, serum+ blood clot, plasma+buffy coat+red blood cells; 12-hour overnight urine; paraffin embedded tumor and normal tissue; and fresh tissue from tumors, non-neoplastic breast tissue and mammary fat tissue. Subject enrollment started in June 2000 and is expected to continue until January 2003 for breast cancer cases and controls and June 2003 for ovarian and endometrial cancer cases. As of May 2002, we have identified 2,207 breast, 138 ovarian and 235 endometrial cancer cases and 2,327 controls. The response rates to the interview are 81% for breast, 90% for ovarian and 83% for endometrial cancer cases and 70% for controls. Most women who agree to the interview agree to provide biological specimens (about 90% of cancer cases and controls agree to provide a blood sample), anthropometric measurements (95% of breast cancer cases and controls) and wear a physical activity monitor (79% breast cancer cases and 90% of controls)....