Active clinical trials for "Cholangiocarcinoma"

The purpose of this study is to determine which stent type is effective in the decrease of postoperative stay and complications across pancreaticojejunostomy after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

This study is for people with advanced cancer of the digestive tract and cancer that cannot be completely removed by surgery. Radiation therapy is commonly used in the treatment of these types of cancer in combination with a chemotherapy drug, called 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). In this study, doctors will administer the standard dose of radiation therapy in combination with an investigational chemotherapy drug, called irinotecan. Irinotecan can decrease the size of tumors and also appears to increase the effectiveness of radiation. The purpose of this study is to determine the highest dose of irinotecan that can be given safely in combination with radiation therapy, and to determine the side effects when these two treatments are given together. Irinotecan is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of colon cancer, but is not approved for cancers of the digestive tract. However, the FDA is allowing its use in this research study.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and capecitabine, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one chemotherapy drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining gemcitabine with capecitabine in treating patients who have advanced and/or inoperable cholangiocarcinoma or carcinoma (cancer) of the gallbladder.

This is a Phase II trial of the combination of oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) and capecitabine (Xeloda), known as XELOX, in participants with unresectable or recurrent cholangiocarcinoma, including carcinoma of the gallbladder or biliary tract, both intrahepatic and extrahepatic. Participants may be either previously untreated or treated with chemotherapy. Participants will accrue to two strata based on pre-treatment status; separate response rates and statistical operating characteristics will be applied to each stratum. The primary objective is to determine the objective response rate (complete plus partial) of XELOX in this population. Secondary objectives include determining toxicity, stable disease rates, and median and overall survival of participants treated with this combination.

Erlotinib and bevacizumab have shown activity individually, as single drugs, or in combination with chemotherapy in upper gastro-intestinal cancers, including esophageal and gastro-esophageal adenocarcinomas, gastric cancer and pancreatic cancer. Biomarkers indicating an important role of EGF and VEGF have been found in these tumors, and in cholangiocarcinomas as well. There is promise that combined treatment with erlotinib and bevacizumab is active and tolerable in a broad range of upper gastro-intestinal cancers, justifying an experimental phase II-study of patients with these diagnoses, refractory or intolerant to standard systemic therapy.

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: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Motexafin gadolinium may increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy by making tumor cells more sensitive to treatment. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of radiation therapy plus motexafin gadolinium in treating patients with bile duct, gallbladder, or pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed surgically.

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 dolastatin 10 in treating patients with metastatic or recurrent liver, bile duct, or gallbladder cancer.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and capecitabine, 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 combining gemcitabine with capecitabine in treating patients who have locally advanced or metastatic gallbladder cancer or cholangiocarcinoma.

The purpose of this study is to test any good and bad side effects of surgery using IRE to treat cancer of the bile duct.