Active clinical trials for "Brain Neoplasms"

Background: Marqibo(Registered Trademark) is a new anticancer drug. It combines Vincristine sulfate, which is a widely used anticancer drug, and packages it into a tiny fat bubble known as a liposome. The goal of this is to improve the drug's ability to destroy cancer cells and help reduce the potential side effects of treatment. Vincristine sulfate was originally developed from chemicals found in the periwinkle plant and acts against multiple types of malignant cancer. It is approved for multiple cancer types including solid tumors and blood cancers. Research has shown that Marqibo(Registered Trademark) is able to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells in some adults, both alone and in combination with other chemotherapy drugs, but more research is needed to determine its use in children. There has been one previous small study of Marqibo(Registered Trademark) in children. Although some anti-cancer activity was seen, side effects and optimal dosing were not fully determined. As is seen with standard Vincristine suflate, the most common side effect of Marqibo(Registered Trademark) involves the nervous system. It can cause numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. Symptoms commonly improve when the drug is discontinued or the dose is lowered. Objectives: - To determine the safety and efficacy of Marqibo as a treatment for children who have been diagnosed with certain types of malignant cancer that has not responded to standard treatment. Eligibility: Children and adolescents between 2 and 21 years of age who have been diagnosed with certain types of malignant cancer that has not responded to standard treatment. These cancer types include solids tumors, primary brain tumors, leukemias, and lymphomas.

Background: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surgery Branch has developed an experimental therapy for treating patients with gliomas that involves taking white blood cells from the patient, growing them in the laboratory in large numbers, genetically modifying these specific cells with a type of virus (retrovirus) to attack only the tumor cells, and then giving the cells back to the patient. This type of therapy is called gene transfer. In this protocol, we are modifying the patient's white blood cells with a retrovirus that has the gene for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) vIII incorporated in the retrovirus. Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine a safe number of these cells to infuse and to see if these particular tumor-fighting cells (anti-EGFRvIII cells) are a safe and effective treatment for advanced gliomas. Eligibility: - Adults age 18-70 with malignant glioma expressing the EGFRvIII molecule. Design: Work up stage: Patients will be seen as an outpatient at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical Center and undergo a history and physical examination, scans, x-rays, lab tests, and other tests as needed Leukapheresis: If the patients meet all of the requirements for the study they will undergo leukapheresis to obtain white blood cells to make the anti-EGFRvIII cells. {Leukapheresis is a common procedure, which removes only the white blood cells from the patient.} Treatment: Once their cells have grown, the patients will be admitted to the hospital for the conditioning chemotherapy, the anti-EGFRvIII cells, and aldesleukin. They will stay in the hospital for about 4 weeks for the treatment. Follow up: Patients will return to the clinic for a physical exam, review of side effects, lab tests, and scans every month for the first year, and then every 1-2 months as long as their tumors are shrinking. Follow up visits will take up to 2 days.

RATIONALE: Biological therapies, such as cellular adoptive immunotherapy, may stimulate the immune system in different ways and stop tumor cells from growing. Donor T cells that are treated in the laboratory may be effective treatment for malignant glioma. Aldesleukin may stimulate the white blood cells to kill tumor cells. Combining different types of biological therapies may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best way to give therapeutic donor lymphocytes together with aldesleukin in treating patients with stage III or stage IV malignant glioma.

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of temsirolimus when given together with perifosine and to see how well it works in treating patients with recurrent or progressive malignant glioma. Temsirolimus may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as perifosine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving temsirolimus with perifosine may be an effective treatment for malignant glioma.

Neuroanesthesia for supratentorial surgery involves a thorough understanding of the physiopathology of intracranial pressure, cerebral homeostasis and regulation of cerebral perfusion pressure as well as the effects of anesthesia and surgery on these elements. The main objective of anesthesia during neurosurgery is to preserve the integrity of the brain by maintaining cerebral homeostasis, and assuring cerebral protection using normovolemia, normotension, normoglycemia, moderate hyperoxia and hypocapnia and hyperosmolality with the administration of mannitol. During surgery, the use of surgical retractors must be limited to avoid possible ischemia of the brain tissue. Surgical retractors can be replaced by chemical retractors. The concept of chemical retraction involves a reduction of cerebral blood flow, maintaining cerebral perfusion pressure, moderate hyperventilation, drainage of cerebrospinal fluid and osmotherapy. Mannitol, an osmotic agent, has been widely used to reduce the volume of the brain, the intracranial pressure and to facilitate the surgical approach in reducing the risk of cortical lesions during the opening of the skull. Mannitol 20% is usually given intravenously in bolus doses of 0.5-1g/kg over 30 minutes. However, over the last few years, the concept of a dose-response relationship has emerged. Some recent studies tend to demonstrate that higher doses of mannitol could reduce intracranial pressure significantly without any important side effects. The main objective of the present study is to compare two doses of mannitol (0.7 and 1.4 g/kg) on brain relaxation during supratentorial craniotomies.

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a drug called erlotinib in treating the tumor. This is a multi-center pilot study that explores efficacy and molecular effects of high dose weekly erlotinib for recurrent EGFR vIII mutant malignant gliomas, and correlate molecular profile of pre-treatment tissue with outcome.

RATIONALE: 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. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Vaccines may help the body build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells. Monoclonal antibodies, such as basiliximab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. It is not yet known whether giving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and vaccine therapy together with basiliximab is a more effective treatment for glioblastoma multiforme than chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and vaccine therapy alone. PURPOSE: This randomized phase I trial is studying the side effects and best way to give chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed by vaccine therapy with basiliximab in treating patients with glioblastoma multiforme that has been removed by surgery.

A significant number of brain tumor patients who received radiation or chemotherapy have thinking problems as a result of their treatment. The purpose of this study is to find out if treatment with Aricept (donepezil) may improve some aspects of thinking abilities in patients with brain tumors who received radiation or chemotherapy. This research will also study whether persons having particular genes for a blood-borne substance called apolipoprotein E (APOE) are more likely to have thinking problems after radiation or chemotherapy treatment for their brain tumors. The findings of this study will help us find out whether Aricept can improve thinking abilities after cancer treatment, and whether some of the thinking difficulties may be in part related to having certain genes.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether temozolomide can be used as a prophylaxis against brain recurrence in participants with metastatic breast cancer.

Objectives: Primary - Determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and evaluate the dose limiting toxicities (DLT) of combining lapatinib and temozolomideSecondary - Obtain preliminary information on the clinical anti-tumor activity of lapatinib plus temozolomide on brain metastases secondary to HER-2 positive breast cancer including Objective Response Rate (ORR), Clinical Benefit (CB) and Duration of Response (DR) Methodology: Phase I, single-centre, open-label, dose-escalation study of combining lapatinib and temozolomide in HER-2 positive breast cancer patients with progressive brain metastases after surgery or radiotherapy or radiosurgery Treatment: Temozolomide will be given orally for 5 days of every 28 days, at doses of either 100mg/m2/day or 150mg/m2/day or 200mg/m2/day AND Lapatinib will be given orally every day at either 1000mg/day or 1250mg/day or 1500mg/day.Sequential cohorts will be escalated in increments according to the dose escalation scheme, and determined by dose limiting toxicities.