Active clinical trials for "Central Nervous System Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of irofulven in treating patients who have progressive or recurrent astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, or glioblastoma multiforme.

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 II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy using paclitaxel and topotecan, plus G-CSF, in treating patients with glioblastoma multiforme or anaplastic astrocytoma that is refractory or recurrent.

RATIONALE: Inserting the gene for herpes virus into a person's cells may improve the body's ability to fight cancer or make the cancer more sensitive to chemotherapy using antiviral drugs such as ganciclovir. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectivenesss of gene therapy in treating patients with primary brain tumors.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so that they stop growing or die. bone marrow transplantation and peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by bone marrow transplantation and/or peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have recurrent medulloblastoma or CNS germ cell tumors.

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.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of carboplatin in patients with progressive glioma.

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to determine the effectiveness of monoclonal antibody therapy in treating patients who have primary or metastatic melanoma or brain tumors.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving combination chemotherapy together with bone marrow transplantation or peripheral stem cell transplantation works in treating patients with relapsed germ cell 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: This randomized phase III trial is studying two different combination chemotherapy regimens and comparing how well they work in treating children with low-grade astrocytomas or other residual tumors of the brain.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of irinotecan plus carmustine in treating patients who have recurrent primary malignant glioma.