Active clinical trials for "Carcinoma, Squamous Cell"

This trial will evaluate safety and efficacy of the combination of anti-PD1, NKTR-214, and palliative radiation therapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Twenty-four participants will be enrolled to evaluate the efficacy of this combination.

In our previous study (title: Expression of Major Histocompatibility Complex Molecules class II- HLA-DR in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck. ID 2222)the Authors verified that the epithelial cells of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck acquire the ability to express HLA-DR. Although the role of the expression of these molecules on neoplastic cells still remains controversial, a positive association between HLA-DR expression and clinical outcome was observed by us in analogy to what was reported by several studies on various types of tumors : in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, colorectal cancer , stomach cancer and others. In these tumors the expression of HLA-DR correlates with the presence of immune cells such as CD16+/CD11c macrophage myeloid cells, associated with a good prognosis and T cells which, recalled in the damaged tissue, they determine the formation of an immunogenic microenvironment that could support an anti-tumor immune response. Oncology studies are in fact focusing on the role of the tumor microenvironment which is characterized by different cell populations, among which the most abundant population is represented by tumor-associated fibroblasts (CAF). CAFs are fibroblasts which, in a tumor context, assume a phenotype similar to that of myo-fibroblasts and are distinguishable from normal fibroblasts by a greater expression of α-sma, FAP and FSP-1, which represent their specific markers, as well as a greater expression of vimentin, fibronectin, and type XI collagen. Numerous evidences in different types of tumors have reported both the immunosuppressive role, as these cells are capable in vitro of inhibiting the proliferation of T lymphocytes, to favor their apoptosis or to induce the phenotype of regulatory T lymphocytes; and the pro-tumor role, as they are capable of promoting tumor proliferation and invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis, thus contributing to the worsening of the prognosis. Many studies are directing their research on which factors secreted by CAFs are responsible for their function. In particular, among the many factors secreted by CAFs, there are the interleukins IL-17 and IL-33 which, as it has been demonstrated, can induce the activation of HLA-DR molecules on bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells . It therefore seems interesting to investigate the role of HLA-DR in relation to the presence of the tumor microenvironment represented by CAFs.

This study is being done to find out the side effects (unwanted effects) that are caused in patients with cancers who are given SGN-2FF. This study will also attempt to find the most suitable dose in the disease or condition being studied and look at other effects of SGN2FF, including its effect on cancer. This study has several different parts. Part A will try to find the highest safe dose. Part B will enroll more patients to be treated at the highest safe dose or a lower dose to better understand how well SGN-2FF is tolerated. Part C will try to find the highest safe dose of SGN-2FF when it is given combined with pembrolizumab. Pembrolizumab is a standard treatment for cancer. Part D will enroll more patients to be treated at the highest safe dose of SGN-2FF combined with pembrolizumab or a lower dose of SGN-2FF to better understand how well SGN-2FF is tolerated when it is given with pembrolizumab.

This is an investigator initiated phase II study to assess the efficacy of a chemotherapy called nab-paclitaxel as first line cytotoxic chemotherapy in subjects with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). All subjects receive the treatment by vein weekly and receive the same dose of the treatment. The risk of developing cutaneous SCC is approximately 10% in a lifetime. The vast majority are treated surgically and do not recur. However a small percentage become unresectable over time or metastasize distantly in the body. Unresectable and metastatic cutaneous SCC has a poor prognosis and oncologists often choose a whole body therapy without the benefit of prospective efficacy data. Very little prospective investigation into the efficacy of specific chemotherapy regimens as a function of line of therapy has been performed in this patient population. Nab-paclitaxel is type of chemotherapy that has demonstrated activity in other types of cancer such as lung and head and neck cancers. The primary objective of this study is to determine the response rate (percentage of subjects with tumor shrinkage) to nab-paclitaxel treatment in subjects with cutaneous SCC who have not received cytotoxic chemotherapy in the unresectable or the metastatic settings.. Secondary objectives are the progression free survival (time until tumor starts to grow), safety, assessment of the percentage of subjects whose tumor expresses a protein called SPARC, and correlating the expression of SPARC with response to treatment. To determine if the tumor expresses SPARC part of a prior standard biopsy such as that performed to establish the diagnosis of SCC will be used. SPARC is a protein that is overexpressed in a range of different cancer types and may alter the environment around the tumor possibly in a way that may make the SCC more responsive to treatment with nab-paclitaxel.

This phase II trial studies the effects of interstitial photodynamic therapy in patients with head and neck cancer that has come back. Interstitial photodynamic therapy uses a combination of laser light and a light-sensitive drug called porfimer sodium to destroy tumors. During treatment a laser light is used to activate the drug. Interstitial photodynamic therapy may be an effective treatment for head and neck cancer.

This randomized phase II trial studies how well giving afatinib after chemoradiation and surgery works in treating patients with stage III-IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck at high-risk of recurrence. Afatinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.

There is a need for more effective therapy for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who developed disease progression after first line therapy. Currently, there is no standard second-line therapy for this disease. BKM-120 is a pan-PI3K inhibitor currently tested in clinical trials. In a cellular model of oral-esophageal carcinogenesis, it has shown that EGFR overexpression activated PI3/AKT pathway. Therfore, there is interest to see the efficacy and safety of BKM120 in this setting.

Penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is relatively rare but exhibits higher incidences in less developed countries. PSCC is a highly aggressive malignancy characterized by early spread. Pembrolizumab has recently been FDA-approved for the treatment of melanoma but will serve as the investigational agent for this penile cancer study.

The dose of radiation most commonly used to treat oropharyngeal cancer results in side effects including sores in the mouth and throat, dry mouth and thick saliva, loss or altered taste, swallowing problems including pain or inability to swallow requiring feeding tubes to be placed in the stomach, hoarseness or breathing problems from swelling requiring tracheostomy or a hole surgically placed in the windpipe to allow the patient to breathe, nausea and vomiting, fatigue and loss of energy, decreased hearing from fluid behind the ear drums in the middle ear, skin redness tenderness and blistering. The purpose of this study is to determine if the investigators can reduce the dose of radiation to the lymph nodes in the neck that may contain cancer cells that are not detected by physical examinations or radiologic studies (CT scans, PET CT scans, or MRI scans) in order to reduce the side effects from treatment and still adequately kill any cancer cells that may be contained in those lymph nodes.

This was an open-label, phase Ib, multicenter clinical trial to determine the MTD/RDE of the orally administered c-MET inhibitor INC280 in combination with cetuximab. This combination was to be explored in c-MET positive mCRC and HNSCC patients whose disease progressed on cetuximab or panitumumab treatment. The dose escalation part was to be guided by a Bayesian Logistic Regression Model with overdose control. At MTD/RDE, additional mCRC and HNSCC patients who progressed on cetuximab or panitumumab treatment were to be enrolled in two expansion groups to further assess the anti-tumor activity and the safety and tolerability of the combination of INC280 and cetuximab. Patients were to receive INC280 on a continuous bid dosing regimen and cetuximab every week. A treatment cycle was defined as 28 days with no scheduled break between cycles. The trial was terminated because of difficulties in identifying patients who met the eligibility criteria.