Active clinical trials for "Brain Neoplasms"

The purpose of this study is to: Find out how safe and effective (by monitoring the good and/or bad effects) treatment with high dose temozolomide, thiotepa and carboplatin with stem cell rescue followed by 13-cis-retinoic acid has on children and adolescents with recurrent/refractory brain tumors Find out how the body uses 13-cis-retinoic acid by studying the your blood levels and proteins in the blood that break down the 13-cis-retinoic acid Determine how well 13-cis-retinoic acid penetrates into the spinal fluid.

Study Objectives: To compare the survival (overall, systemic, and neurological) of patients with single cerebral metastases treated with either conventional surgical resection or stereotactic radiosurgery. To compare their rates of recurrence, complications, and their cognitive ability, functional status, and quality of life. Although surgical resection is a proven and effective treatment for brain metastases in patients with systemic cancer, stereotactic radiosurgery has been suggested to be equally effective and less morbid. Nonrandomized retrospective comparisons have been unable to resolve whether stereotactic radiosurgery is as effective as conventional surgery because of the complexity and variability of the population of patients with cancer and brain metastases. This controversy can only be resolved by a prospective randomized trial comparing these treatment modalities. Patients not randomized will be analyzed as a separate group.

The purpose of this study is to establish the recommended dose/Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) of Tarceva in children as single agent and in combination with radiation therapy

The purpose of this research study is to determine the safety of combining lapatinib plus radiation in patients with breast cancer that has spread to the brain. Depending upon the participants cancer, they may also have stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Lapatinib s a compound that may stop cancer cells from growing abnormally. It is thought that lapatinib might also make cancer cells more sensitive to radiation. This drug has been used in other research studies in women with breast cancer, and information from those other research studies suggests that lapatinib may help to shrink or stabilize breast tumors both inside the brain and outside the brain.

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of perifosine in preventing further tumor growth using the established optimal dose of the drug. A second goal is to determine if perifosine can block the molecules in the tumor that drive it to divide and grow.

This study has been designed to compile information on the efficacy of the GliaSite RTS combined with radiosurgery in the treatment of newly diagnosed metastatic brain tumors.

This is a Phase I, open-label, multi-centre study designed to assess the safety and tolerability of Cediranib in combination with lomustine in patients with primary recurrent malignant brain tumour.

This study will examine whether an experimental drug called GW572016 can delay tumor growth in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GMB, a malignant brain tumor). GW572016 is believed to affect cancer cell function by interfering with the internal signaling needed for the cancer to grow. The study will also determine whether the presence of specific proteins in the tumor can predict what effects GW572016 will have on the tumor. Patients 18 years of age and older with GMB whose brain tumor does not respond to standard medical treatment and who can undergo surgery for their tumor may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a physical examination and neurocognitive examination, blood tests, electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram (ultrasound test of heart function) or MUGA scan (nuclear medicine test of heart function), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head, and computed tomography (CT) of the head. CT uses x-rays and MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to show brain structure. Participants undergo the following tests and procedures: MRI and blood tests before surgery. Surgery to remove the brain tumor. Follow-up MRIs every 8 weeks after surgery. Follow-up echocardiograms or MUGA scans every 8 weeks after surgery. GW572016 treatment starting 7-10 days before surgery and continuing until the patient or doctor decides it is in the patient's best interest to stop it or until the tumor worsens. (The drug is stopped temporarily for surgery and a healing period after surgery.) Blood tests every 2 weeks to evaluate the effects of GW572016 on the body. Blood test before the first GW572016 treatment and at the time of surgery to assess the effect of the drug on the cells and to determine how much drug is present in the blood at the time of surgery. Participants are followed in clinic at least monthly while taking GW572016. While on treatment they keep a diary documenting their daily treatments. The diary is collected at the monthly follow-up exams. After the treatment ends, patients are contacted periodically by the research staff for the rest of their lives to follow the long-term effects of the study.

This study will compare the effectiveness of craniotomy to that of stereotactic surgery (SRS) for the treatment of metastatic brain tumors - tumors that first develop elsewhere in the body and then travel to the brain. Craniotomy is surgical removal of the tumors through an operation. SRS consists of highly focused radiation doses to the tumors. Neither treatment is experimental and both have shown benefits to patients with metastatic brain tumors. This study will determine whether one treatment is superior to the other in prolonging patient survival. Patients 21 years of age and older with one to three metastatic brain tumors may be eligible for this study. Participants will have a medical history and physical examination, blood and urine tests, an electrocardiogram, and chest x-ray. They will then be randomly assigned to undergo either surgery or SRS. Before either procedure, patients will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of the brain. Patients scheduled for SRS will have a computed tomography (CT) scan in addition to the MRI. CT uses X-rays to obtain images of the brain. During the CT, a contrast agent is injected through an IV tube placed in a vein to enhance the CT images. For both the MRI and CT tests, the patient lies on a table that slides into a cylindrical scanner. The MRI usually lasts between 45 and 90 minutes, while the CT scan lasts for about 30 to 60 minutes. Patients scheduled for surgery will have general anesthesia or local anesthesia with sedation. They will be in intensive care after the surgery until their condition is stable. Before being discharged home, they will have another MRI scan. The surgical sutures or staples will be removed 7 to 10 days after surgery. Patients scheduled for SRS will have their scalp numbed with medicine and their head will be placed in a head frame. A CT scan will be done on the morning of the procedure to plan the treatment. Around noon, the treatment, which consists of brief exposures to radiation, will be administered with the patient positioned comfortably on a treatment couch. The treatment will be completed in 1 to 2 hours, after which the head frame will be removed. After a brief period of observation, the patient will be discharged home. Patients will return to NIH for follow-up visits within 4 weeks after surgery or SRS and then every 3 months after that for a medical history, physical examination, and MRI scan, and to complete a quality of life questionnaire.

Although malignant brain tumors are the most common type of primary brain tumor, there are a number of other benign brain tumors that exist. Many difficulties exist with treating these tumors that have led to controversies in the best treatment. A common issue among these brain tumors is the risk of long term side effects from treatment. What limits the use of curative radiation therapy is the ability to deliver a maximal dose to the tumor while minimizing the amount of radiation to the normal structures in the brain. A new method of delivering radiation, called tomotherapy, has been acquired at the Cross Cancer Institute (CCI) and will be used in this study. It has the ability to deliver a high dose of radiation to the tumor while minimizing the amount of radiation to normal brain structures. This study will use this method of radiation therapy to deliver radiation and see if the long term side effects from radiation therapy can be reduced.