Active clinical trials for "Brain Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies can locate tumor cells and deliver radioactive tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. This may be effective treatment for primary or metastatic brain tumors. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of radiolabeled monoclonal antibody therapy in treating patients with primary or metastatic brain tumors.

Standard treatment for patients with diffuse pontine tumors is radiation therapy, but less than 10% of patients are cured. Adding standard chemotherapy has not improved the cure rate. Standard treatment for high-grade astrocytomas is surgery and radiation. The surgeon removes as much of the tumor as she or he can. Radiation after that tries to kill any cancer cells that are left. Some patients also get chemotherapy. These are anti-cancer drugs. They can be given during or after radiation. Current standard treatments do not cure many patients. In this study the doctors are adding a new medication called cetuximab to the treatment and will also use a chemotherapy medication (irinotecan) that has been promising for patients treated for recurrent disease.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and effectiveness of a combination treatment for glioblastoma multiforme utilizing radiotherapy plus the FDA-approved chemotherapy drug temozolomide

What is the efficacy and safety of q 30 minutes vs. q 1hour glucose sampling and intervention for an intensive insulin protocol to achieve and maintain euglycemia in non-diabetic patients undergoing craniotomy? The investigators hypothesize that in non-diabetic patients undergoing craniotomy, monitoring glucose and modifying insulin infusions every 30 minutes compared to every hour will help them reach target glucose levels faster and maintain them more efficiently with the same insulin protocol.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the safety of giving Whole Brain Radiotherapy (WBRT) together with intrathecal liposomal cytarabine (DepoCyte®) for patients with leptomeningeal metastases. The study will compare the safety of giving DepoCyte at the same time as WBRT with giving the drug after WBRT is complete.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as bendamustine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Stereotactic radiation therapy may be able to send x-rays directly to the tumor and cause less damage to normal tissue. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of bendamustine when given together with radiation therapy in treating patients with brain metastases caused by solid tumors.

Vorinostat in combination with radiation therapy can be administered safely and will be tolerated in patients with brain metastases, while providing an assessment of the anti-tumor activity of this combination. This is a multi-center, open-label, non-randomized Phase I study in patients with brain metastases. Patients will be administered oral Vorinostat and radiation therapy and will be treated for 3 weeks. Patients will be enrolled in cohorts and will be treated at sequentially rising dose levels of Vorinostat combined with radiation therapy. We will initially enter 3 subjects at each dose. If none of the three experiences a dose-limiting toxicity we will proceed to the next dose. If one of the three experiences that level of toxicity, we will accrue 3 more subjects at that dose. If at any time there are two or more dose-limiting toxicities (in the 3-6 subjects) on a given dose, we will drop down to a lower dose. Dose escalation will continue until the MTD of Vorinostat and radiation therapy is established. The MTD will then be one dose below the DLT occurring in at least 1 out of 3 subjects (2 out of 6 patients).

The purpose of this study is to test the safety of a new plan for treating glioblastoma. The usual first treatment for glioblastoma is to give focused radiation over 6 weeks in combination with a chemotherapy called temozolomide. In this study the radiation will be given over 2 weeks in combination with temozolomide and another drug, bevacizumab, will also be given. Our idea is that this treatment plan may attack both the tumor and the blood vessels feeding the tumor more effectively. This study will look at what effects, good or bad, this approach has on the patient and the tumor.

The purpose of this study is to determine the antitumor activity of PPX in combination with temozolomide and radiation for patients with newly diagnosed brain tumors.

NSCLC patients often have cerebral metastasis : 10% at diagnosis and 40% during disease management. Neurosurgery is not indicated in the majority of cases because of presence of several lesions in the brain, failure of primary tumor control or presence of extra-cerebral metastasis. Cerebral metastasis lead to death in 30 to 50% of these cases. Management of these patients in this situation is based on supportive care and whole-brain radiotherapy. The place of chemotherapy for patients with good performance status was discussed for a long time and it is now admitted. However, the place of new drugs such as pemetrexed, which is currently used as a second line treatment for NSCLC, needs to be further studied. It is known that pemetrexed when added to cisplatin for treatment of NSCLC provides a similar effectiveness when compared to other drugs associations commonly used in this indication. In addition, Cisplatin with Pemetrexed probably present a better safety profile. The present study is based upon the hypothesis stipulating that the association cisplatin-pemetrexed will be at least as efficient as the others association currently used for treatment of NSCLC and will present a better safety profile. The primary objective of this study is overall response rate on brain metastasis according to RECIST criteria. Secondary judgment criterias are : Overall response rate, PFS after first-line CDDP plus pemetrexed, safety profile, quality of life, neurological symptoms, overall survival. The trial will enroll up to 45 patients in this single-arm two-stage sequential phase II study with the possibility of stopping the study early because of lack of efficacy.