Active clinical trials for "Brain Neoplasms"

The investigators conducted a single institutional, retrospective cohort study to demonstrate the appropriate treatment strategy of upfront intracranial radiotherapy or upfront targeted therapy in patients with brain metastases, including an assessment of its feasibility and toxicity.

Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is being widely accepted as a treatment of choice for patients with a small number of brain metastases and an acceptable size, allowing a better target dose conformity resulting in high local control rates and better sparing of organs at risk. Currently, imaging for such a delivery technique requires both a recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain study for volume definition and a computed tomography (CT) scan for SRT planning. An MRI-only workflow could reduce the risk of misalignment between the two imaging modalities and shorten the delay of planning. Given the absence of a calibrated electronic density on MRI, the investigators aim to assess the equivalence of synthetic CTs generated by a generative adversarial network (GAN) for planning in the brain SRT setting.

In this study, 50 women with either HER2+ or triple negative metastatic breast cancer but no known brain metastases will be recruited at the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre. They will be randomized to undergo either routine MRI screening of their brain every 4 months for 1 year or standard-of-care (MRI only if symptoms of brain metastases develop). Patients will complete questionnaires about quality of life and cancer-related anxiety throughout the study. To determine why some cancers spread to the brain and others do not, blood samples will be collected to analyze the genetic makeup of patients' breast cancers. Finally, a novel MRI imaging technique that detects abnormal metabolism in the brain will be used to help detect brain metastases even earlier than the standard MRI. If results are promising, we will conduct a large multi-centre randomized trial to determine whether screening for brain metastases can help them live longer with improved quality of life.

Published prognostic scores have limitations in prediction of long term survival after stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases. Moreover, no validated tools are available for prediction of local failure. The value of radiomics is evaluated in this perspective.

The study will compare two different size MRI's of a brain tumor.

The purpose of this study is to assess whether BIS values at return of consciousness are different in patients with or without brain tumors.

To document pre-diagnosis educational abilities, to document any change in educational achievements following treatment, to document educational support given within the statement process and to document the timing of support.

The purpose of this research is to explore the factors involved in brain cancer health care literacy needs.

The purpose of this study is to determine if certain MRI imaging sequences (pictures) are more helpful to the physicians in determining if a brain tumor has recurred or if the person has radiation injury following their treatment.

Background: Informed consent is the process by which prospective participants in clinical trials learn about clinical research in order to decide whether they want to enroll in the study. It consists of meetings and discussions with the health care team. Phase I clinical trials are designed to determine what dose of an investigational agent is safe to administer to patients. Objectives: To study communication, comprehension and decision-making during the informed consent process. To examine ethical, psychological, social, and educational issues regarding informed consent. To help researchers understand how to improve informed consent and education about clinical research. Eligibility: Parents or guardians of children with cancer who are being considered for participation in phase I clinical trials Prospective patients for pediatric phase I clinical trials who are between 14 and 21 years of age. Members of the research team who obtain consent from patients and families for pediatric phase I clinical trials Design: Research assistants observe and record the informed consent conference held with the research team and the parents and children. After the conference, the research assistant interviews the parents in a private area about their experience during the conference and their decision-making process. They are asked about their thoughts and opinions during the informed consent conference, including the decision-making process, communication and trust in the medical team. With their parent's permission, patients are interviewed privately to discuss their experience during the informed consent conference. After parents and patients have made their decision about participation in the study, they are interviewed again about how they made the decision, aspects of the communication during the conference, and how they feel about the doctor. This interview is also recorded. Parents may be contacted 6 months to 2 years from the time of their participation to be part of a parent advisory group about the informed consent process.