Active clinical trials for "Ependymoma"

The purpose of this study is to improve overall survival while maintaining a good quality of life in pediatric patients with refractory or recurrent brain tumors (medulloblastomas, supratentorial PNETs, ependymomas WHO grade II and III). Response to different chemotherapy options (intravenous versus oral chemotherapy, intraventricular chemotherapy) as part of a multimodal therapy will be assessed. Progression-free, overall survival and toxicity will be evaluated additionally.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use 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. Combining more than one drug and combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy to see how well they work in treating children with localized ependymoma.

Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of flavopiridol in treating children who have relapsed or refractory solid tumors or lymphoma.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the anti-tumor activity of Everolimus among children with recurrent or progressive ependymoma. Recurrent or progressive ependymoma is incurable and has very limited treatment options. The rationale for this study is based upon both pre-clinical and clinical considerations: Immunohistochemistry studies have demonstrated that 20 out of 23 (87%) pediatric ependymomas are immunoreactive for phosphorylated S6, a biomarker that often predicts response to mTOR pathway-targeted therapy. Furthermore, children with with multiply recurrent ependymomas have had objective and durable responses to the mTOR inhibitor, Sirolimus (Rapamune, Pfizer). As a result of this pre-clinical and clinical data, this study will further investigate the activity of an mTOR pathway inhibitor, Everolimus, against children with recurrent or progressive ependymomas. In this study, Everolimus will be administered at a dose and schedule that have previously been demonstrated as safe and effective in children. Children may take Everolimus for up to 2 years on this study, until tumor progression or unacceptable toxicity.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of hypofractionated stereotactic radiation treatments (SBRT) on children, teenagers and young adults malignant tumors.

This pilot clinical trial compares gadobutrol with standard of care contrast agents, gadopentetate dimeglumine or gadobenate dimeglumine, before dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosing patients with multiple sclerosis, grade II-IV glioma, or tumors that have spread to the brain. Gadobutrol is a type of contrast agent that may increase DCE-MRI sensitivity for the detection of tumors or other diseases of the central nervous system. It is not yet known whether gadobutrol is more effective than standard of care contrast agents before DCE-MRI in diagnosing patients with multiple sclerosis, grade II-IV glioma, or tumors that have spread to the brain.

This is a phase I study to investigate the safety and pharmacokinetics of weekly 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) administered as a bolus dose in children and young adults with recurrent or refractory ependymoma. The results from this study will inform a subsequent phase II St. Jude investigator-initiated trial.

This study will evaluate the administration of AdV-tk followed by valacyclovir in children with malignant glioma, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and anaplastic astrocytoma (AA), as well as recurrent ependymomas in combination with radiation therapy. The primary objective is to determine if this approach is safe and can be effectively delivered without disturbing standard therapy.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of ABT-888 when given in combination with temozolomide in treating young patients with recurrent or refractory CNS tumors. ABT-888 may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving ABT-888 together with temozolomide may kill more tumor cells.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of vorinostat when given together with bortezomib in treating young patients with refractory or recurrent solid tumors, including CNS tumors and lymphoma. Vorinostat and bortezomib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor.