Active clinical trials for "Brain Neoplasms"

Significant advances in primary malignant brain tumors (PBT) treatment have led to dramatically improved survival, both in children and adults. However, survival has not come without a cost and aggressive treatment methods associated with significant long-term adverse effects, often referred to as "late effects" (Panigrahy & Blüml, 2009). These effects are the medical, physical, cognitive and psychosocial sequelae associated with cancer and its treatments that generally emerge two to five years after treatment ends (e.g., Landier & Bhatia, 2008). The most serious challenge survivors of brain tumors face may be cognitive dysfunction. One especially important cognitive domain is executive functioning, which refers to essential factors such as problem-solving, goal-directed behavior and the ability to maintain stable interpersonal relationships (Lezak et al., 2004). Despite the potential impact of executive impairments on behavioral regulation and quality of life, few studies were conducted with survivors of PBT specifically for the assessment of executive functioning. Another fundamental neuro-cognitive domain is social cognition, which refers to the ability to understand the intentions and beliefs of others (Frith & Singer, 2008). Social cognitive deficits are expected to impair autonomy and relationships, but scarce attention has been devoted to the study of social cognition in survivors of PBT and no study has attempted to compare socio-cognitive data and measures of health-related quality of life. It is noteworthy that executive function and socio-cognitive skills improve throughout childhood and adolescence, and improvements in these skills have frequently been attributed to maturation of the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex (e.g., Tamnes et al., 2010). This suggests a greater impact of the disease and its treatment on these functions in children/adolescents.

FET PET 2010 is a prospective, multicentre trial aiming to evaluate the additional benefit of FET PET in the assessment of remission after first line therapy and during follow-up

A randomized controlled trial of a video decision aid in 50 patients with advanced brain cancer.

The goal of this study is to compare patient ratings of how severe their own symptoms may be, with their caregivers' ratings of how severe they think the patients' symptoms may be. This will be compared using a questionnaire that is given to patients with brain tumors and their caregivers. Researchers will also study any effects that these patients' neurocognitive function may have on these patients' and their caregivers' ratings of how severe the brain cancer symptoms may be.

This study is to look more closely at the tumor removed during your surgery, and to follow your condition after your treatment. The purpose of this study is to determine what side effects are common or more rare from this treatment, how well the treatment has worked for you, and to track whether you develop other brain metastases.

We hope to determine the importance of different genes (including B receptors) in anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. This has important benefits to patients exposed to anthracyclines, as this could help determine whether certain individuals have increased susceptibility to cardiac injury.

The etiology of brain tumors is poorly understood. Due, in part, to public concern about a postulated relationship between the use of cellular telephones or other increasingly prevalent environmental exposures and the incidence of brain cancer in adults, the National Cancer Institute is collaborating with three U.S. hospitals in a comprehensive case-control study of malignant and benign brain tumors. Factors under consideration include use of cellular phones and other wireless communication devices, workplace exposures to chemical agents and electromagnetic fields, dietary factors, family history of tumors, genetic determinants of susceptibility, home appliance use, reproductive history and hormonal exposures, viruses, medical and dental exposure to ionizing radiation, and other aspects of medical history. Approximately 800 newly diagnosed brain tumor cases and 800 controls have been enrolled at hospitals in Boston, Phoenix and Pittsburgh. Cases include all adults (age greater than or equal to 18 years) newly diagnosed with a histologically confirmed intracranial glioma, intracranial meningioma or acoustic neuroma. Controls are patients admitted to the same hospitals as the cases, and treated for any of a variety of non-malignant conditions. Participating cases and controls were interviewed in the hospital by a research nurse and asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire and donate a sample of blood. Key features of the study include its large size, the emphasis on rapid ascertainment of incident cases and interview of study subjects rather than surrogate respondents, the use of detailed, job-specific questions developed by industrial hygienists to ascertain occupational exposures, and the storage of blood samples for future evaluation of inherited susceptibility, biomarkers of exposure and gene-environment interactions. Implementation of the study protocol proceeded without serious problems. There have been no harmful effects on study participants. There have been no complaints from participants or breaches of confidentiality. Continuation of this research involves analysis and reporting of results. As there will be many papers, this process is expected to extend over the next several years.

This study will examine patients with non-small cell lung cancer metastasis, that is, the distant spreading of tumors to the brain, and compare them with patients without brain metastasis. The molecular and genetic events that permit tumor metastasis are not well understood. There is intense investigation going on into the process in which tumor cells escape the primary local tumor, spread to distant places in the body, and find and create conditions that promote growth in those tissues. Metastasis of tumors such as lung cancer to the brain is a common problem. Tumor cells will be analyzed with the use of microarrays. A microarray is a tool for analyzing gene expression, consisting of a small membrane or glass slide containing samples of many genes arranged in a regular pattern. The goal is to identify a potential molecular signature. It is hoped that there will be discovery of why some patients are more likely than others to develop a brain metastasis, which can have a major negative effect on the quality of life and survival. Patients 18 years of age with known or evidence by radiology of a non-small cell lung cancer metastatic to the brain, either squamous cells or adenocarcinoma tumors, or those who have had a removal of a brain tumor for diagnosis or treatment may be eligible for this study. Participants will undergo the following procedures and tests: Craniotomy, that is, surgical opening of the skull, and removal of the brain tumor. Blood specimens taken from a central vein or artery before the operation, throughout as needed, and for several days afterward, to measure blood chemistries, blood count, and so forth. Physical examination and imaging of the central nervous system before and after surgery. Urine or serum, or both, pregnancy test of women of childbearing potential. Patients will also undergo blood tests at 3-month intervals after surgery for up to 5 years. The purpose is to determine if there are tumor cells in the blood, which may explain how they reached the brain.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of "A-PROTEIN" levels in patients with brain tumors. A-PROTEIN levels will be analyzed both pre and post treatment. Levels in blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) will be analyzed and correlated with the underlying diagnosis and outcome.

To investigate the diagnostic value of 18F-FET PET/MRI instead of MRI alone, children and adolescents with tumor in brain or spinal cord are included and scanned primarily at our hybrid PET/MRI using the amino acid analog 18F-FET. The scans are performed at primary diagnosis, before radiation therapy, before and after operation, when relapse is suspected and three or six months after initiation of chemotherapy.