Active clinical trials for "Neoplasms"

HCC (Hepato-cellular Carcinoma) is the fifth most frequent cancer in humans and its prevalence is growing. The most effective treatment of HCC is surgical and includes resection and liver transplantation; however, only 20% of the patients can be treated surgically. Local interventional therapy, such as radiofrequency (RF) ablation and transarterial embolization is also used. Recurrence rate is very high, and extrahepatic disease develops in about 30% of the cases and in up to 20% after liver transplantation. Systemic treatment is thus an option. Sorafenib (multi-kinase inhibitor) is the first agent to significantly improve the overall survival in advanced HCC. However, the drug has serious side effects and is very expensive. PET/CT with F18-FDG is a common tool for systemic evaluation and staging of various tumors. The value of the FDG PET for evaluation of HCC is controversial, in particular due to the unique metabolic pathway of glucose in the HCC cells. Since 2007 more and more studies suggest the feasibility of FDG PET/CT for monitoring local recurrence (especially after RF) and metastatic spread of HCC, including detection of active disease only suspected by AFP (alphafoetoprotein) elevation. Early detection of treatment response to therapy by whole body FDG PET/CT allows for change of treatment as early as possible,when the tumor is non-responsive before serious side effects appear or before depletion of body resources. The aim of our study is to investigate the contribution of FDG PET/CT to assessment of treatment response.

Cancers are among the most frequent leading causes of death in Taiwan, and many of them show their respective unique epidemiological and pathophysiological features in Taiwanese population. One of the distinguishing features of cancers includes their potential to metastasize outside the primary tumor. Pleural cavity and peritoneum are two of the most frequent sites of metastases when serosal surfaces are involved. The prognoses of such patients are extremely poor with a median survival of months. The understandings of cancer biology of tumor metastasis demand more in-depth studies at the molecular and cell levels. Studies based on cell culture are excellent approaches for this purpose as the cell culture provides a relevant and renewable model for studying the pathological and molecular changes underlying human malignant tumors.

After initial treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer patients (DTC) are followed by a blood test, a biomarker called thyroglobulin, in order to detect a possible recurrence. Nowadays patients are treated 'blindly' with high dose radioactive iodine to treat a suspected recurrence. However, the scan made after therapy to verify the effect of the treatment shows that in up to 50% the treatment could be considered as futile. 124I - a radioactive isotope - in combination with whole body PET became recently available for use in the follow-up of DTC. This could make it possible before the therapy with high dose radioactive iodine to determine the extensiveness of the disease and whether effect of the therapy could be expected. Additionally, recurrent DTC lesions that do not accumulate iodine can be found without the futile treatment with 131I. FDG-PET (another PET modality) is able to detect these lesions. The value of FDG-PET before 131I treatment however has not been tested. The combination of these two diagnostic tools, 124I-PET and FDG-PET, has a potential to allow earlier and better restaging and selection for treatment

The study will seek to determine whether there is a corresponding deficit in school performance for teenagers with NF1. Secondly, the study seeks to explore the issue of self-esteem in teenagers with NF1.

To evaluate the effect of concomitant late course accelerated hyperfractionation radiochemotherapy with pemetrexed and cisplatin in patients with esophagus cancer

S-1 has been also shown to be an effective drug for palliative chemotherapy in Eastern and Western GC patients. Recently, some case and small-sized studies have been reported on lacrimal drainage obstruction(LDO)caused by S-1.Suggested mechanism of LDO involves direct secretion of S-1 into the tear; thus the concentration of S-1 metabolite in tear is expected to be high in patients who developed LDO than in patients without LDO. We investigate the concentration of S-1 and its metabolites in tear and plasma and find out its correlation with side effects such as LDO. These results will also help us identify patients who are at high risk of developing S-1-associated side effects.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide and is well known to remain a major health problem. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) constitutes more than 80% of all the cases of lung cancer. Today, NSCLC can be defined by various molecular criteria. Especially, somatic mutations within the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene itself were discovered in a subset of NSCLC patients. Two activating EGFR mutations are in-frame deletion in exon 19 and the substitutions for L858R in exon 21, which account for 85% of all clinically important mutations related to EGFR TKI sensitivity. Besides two activating EGFR mutations, other EGFR mutations in NSCLC have been discovered. G719 and L861 are reported to have intermediate sensitivity to EGFR TKI. And in-frame insertions within exon 20 and T790, which are known to be resistant to EGFR TKIs. However, there are still other EGFR mutations such as E709 and S768 as well as doublet EGFR mutations are also observed. These rare mutations have not been fully described and data on their correlation with response to EGFR-TKIs are still unclear. Research hypothesis Rare EGFR mutations of unknown clinical significance in NSCLC patients, which are distinguish from mutations such as deletion in exon 19, L858 and insertion in exon 20, have some possibility of EGFR TKI sensitivity. Rationale for conducting this study It has an opportunity to be shown the efficacy of EGFR TKIs in patients with rare EGFR mutation in large number of patients in Korea (Asia) during the short period.

The ultimate goal of the Barrett's Esophagus Patient Registry is to help develop more effective targeted screening strategies and treatment options for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). We plan to do by developing a registry that will serve as a platform. Examples of analyses could include identifying genetic determinants and biomarkers that predict BE, progression of BE to EAC, as well as the response to therapies.

The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the correlation between the efficacy and toxicity of S-1 on gastric cancers and the expression of thymidylate synthase (TS), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) and orotate phosphoribosyltransferase(OPRT).

The GIMEMA CML Working Party promotes a multicentric, observational, non company sponsored, prospective study of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) patients treated frontline with dasatinib. Patients will be followed for 5 years. This study will help the definition of guidelines for the treatment of CML patients in early phases. The primary objective of the study is to describe, in the clinical practice, the rate of events leading to permanent discontinuation after 2 years of treatment with dasatinib as frontline therapy in newly diagnosed CML patients.