Active clinical trials for "Pancreatic Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs such as gadolinium texaphyrin may make the tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of gadolinium texaphyrin plus radiation therapy in treating patients who have cancer of the pancreas that cannot be removed by surgery.

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from a person's cancer cells may make the body build an immune response to and kill tumor cells. Combining vaccine therapy with surgery may be an effective treatment for pancreatic cancer. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of vaccine therapy in treating patients with stage I or stage II pancreatic cancer that has been surgically removed.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug and giving drugs in different ways may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether fluorouracil plus cisplatin are more effective than fluorouracil alone in treating patients with metastatic cancer of the pancreas. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of fluorouracil with or without cisplatin in treating patients who have advanced or metastatic cancer of the pancreas.

RATIONALE: Interleukin-12 may kill tumor cells by stimulating a person's white blood cells to kill cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of interleukin-12 in treating patients with cancer in the abdomen.

RATIONALE: Surgery to remove the pancreas, some of the small intestine, and lymph nodes may be more effective treatment for cancer of the pancreas than surgery to remove the pancreas and some of the small intestine alone. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy may be an effective treatment for cancer of the pancreas. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of surgery to remove the pancreas and a portion of the small intestine with or without removing lymph nodes, followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy, in treating patients with cancer of the pancreas.

Randomized phase II trial to compare the effectiveness of bortezomib with or without gemcitabine in treating patients who have metastatic pancreatic cancer. Bortezomib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for tumor cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining bortezomib with gemcitabine may kill more tumor cells.

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from a person's white blood cells that have been treated in the laboratory may make the body build an immune response to kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of vaccine therapy in treating patients who have advanced or metastatic cancer.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Biological therapies such as erlotinib use different ways to stimulate the immune system and stop cancer cells from growing. Combining chemotherapy and biological therapy may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known if gemcitabine is more effective with or without erlotinib in treating pancreatic cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to determine the effectiveness of gemcitabine with and without erlotinib in treating patients who have unresectable locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and irinotecan, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy in treating patients who have locally advanced, unresectable pancreatic cancer.

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from mutated ras peptides may make the body build an immune response to and kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of a vaccine containing mutated ras peptides and an immune adjuvant in treating patients who have colon, pancreatic, or lung cancer.