Active clinical trials for "Liver Neoplasms"

Cirrhotic patients undergoing hepatic resection have a mortality rate near 10%, and 30 to 70% of them develop severe complications. These failures are mainly due to hepatic insufficiency. Studies have already shown benefits of oral nutritional supplements in ORL, digestive, and cardiac surgery. We aimed to ascertain whether this nutritional, immune-enhancing supplementation, administered 7 days before and 3 days after surgery, could improve liver function and postoperative host defences in patients with liver cancer resection.

This study is an open-label study. It has two stages. Stage 1 is a dose escalation phase of the study to determine and evaluate the safety and tolerability of repeated treatments with a genetically engineered herpes simplex virus NV1020 administered locoregionally to the liver. Stage 2 is to evaluate the dose found in Stage 1 to be "optimally tolerated". Stage 2 is to assess the efficacy of the optimally tolerated dose of NV1020 by itself and in combination with second-line chemotherapy. Assignment to Stage 1 or Stage 2 of the study is determined by when the patient enters the study.

RATIONALE: Estrogen can stimulate the growth of cancer cells. Hormone therapy using megestrol may fight liver cancer by blocking the uptake of estrogen. It is not yet known if megestrol is an effective treatment for liver cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to determine the effectiveness of megestrol in treating patients who have liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery.

RATIONALE: The Chinese herbal medicine Sho-saiko-to contains ingredients that may slow the growth of tumor cells and stimulate a person's immune system to help kill tumor cells. This may be an effective treatment following hepatic artery embolization. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of Sho-saiko-to following hepatic artery embolization in treating patients who have liver cancer.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as liposomal doxorubicin, cisplatin, and mitomycin, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing. Chemoembolization kills tumor cells by blocking the blood flow to the tumor and keeping chemotherapy drugs near the tumor. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can kill any tumor cells that are left after chemoembolization by blocking their ability to grow and spread. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying to see if chemoembolization followed by bevacizumab works better than chemoembolization alone in treating patients who have liver cancer that cannot be removed with surgery.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy such as doxorubicin use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Oblimersen may increase the effectiveness of doxorubicin by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drug. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining oblimersen with doxorubicin in treating patients who have locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer).

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from a person's white blood cells mixed with tumor proteins may make the body build an immune response to kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of vaccine therapy in treating patients who have liver cancer.

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 may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of combining epirubicin, carboplatin, and capecitabine in treating patients who have unresectable locally advanced, metastatic, or recurrent solid tumor.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of ixabepilone in treating young patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors or leukemia.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and doxorubicin, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Estrogen can stimulate the growth of tumor cells. Hormone therapy using tamoxifen may fight cancer by blocking the uptake of estrogen. Combining tamoxifen with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving cisplatin and doxorubicin together with tamoxifen works in treating patients with solid tumors.