Active clinical trials for "Colorectal Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as oxaliplatin and capecitabine, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Oxaliplatin and capecitabine may make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy and may kill more tumor cells. Giving chemotherapy with radiation therapy before surgery may shrink the tumor so that it can be removed. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects and best dose of oxaliplatin and capecitabine when given together with radiation therapy and to see how well they work in treating patients who are undergoing surgery for locally advanced cancer of the rectum. NOTE: *The phase I portion of this trial closed 06/2005. The best dose of oxaliplatin and capecitabine has been determined.

The standard treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer is based on systemic chemotherapy. Several effective drugs are currently available and can be administered either sequentially or in combination. Most patients receive 2 or 3 lines of chemotherapy. The aim of this randomized trial is to evaluate the potential benefit of a bitherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin as first line chemotherapy compared with a sequential chemotherapy with 5-FU alone as first line chemotherapy followed by the combination of 5-FU with oxaliplatin in case of progressive disease, in terms of progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

The purpose of the study is to describe the tumor response rates for the two regimens being studied, and to determine how long patients live after receiving the treatment, how long patients are without return of their disease after they receive treatment, and how long the response they get from the treatment lasts. The amount and type of side effects/toxicities of each regimen will also be evaluated. The regimen including Oxaliplatin + 5FU/Folinic Acid is a current standard of care.

The main objective of this trial is to explore the effect of combining an established chemotherapy regimen (FLOX), based on 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid, and oxaliplatin (Eloxatin®), with the EGF receptor antibody cetuximab (Erbitux®) in first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. The trial will investigate two regimens of FLOX plus cetuximab, in which FLOX is given continuously or intermittently, compared to standard FLOX without cetuximab.

The purpose of this study is to check if lidocaine intravenous administration during surgery and 24 hours after surgery, associated with standardised management of the patient, helps to accelerate recovery and to improve the quality of recovery, after surgery for colic or rectal neoplasms.

The overall purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy, safety and tolerability of indisulam in combination with irinotecan as a treatment for patients with metastatic colorectalcancer previously treated with 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX).

Malnutrition is a frequent symptom of various malignant diseases and is frequently observed in patients with gastrointestinal tumors. Eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) has been introduced as specific and anticatabolic acting substrate in cancer patients. Only few randomized trials are available which investigated the effect of EPA in form of an EPA-enriched, protein- and energy-dense oral nutritional supplement mostly in patients with pancreatic carcinoma. Therefore, the effect of an EPA-rich oral nutritional supplement for two months on functional state and quality of life in patients with other gastroenterological tumors and weight loss is investigated in this randomized prospective trial.

The purpose of this study is to collect information about the antitumor activity and the safety of capecitabine and thalidomide in patients with colorectal cancer.

The hypothesis is that radiofrequency ablation combined or not with resection may allow a local control (the liver) in patients suffering from unresectable colorectal liver metastases. Patients may have benefit or not from a preoperative (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy.

Drugs used against cancer work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies, such as cetuximab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Giving combination chemotherapy together with cetuximab as first treatment after diagnosis of a metastatic colorectal cancer ('1st-line' treatment) may improve the treatment efficacy. However, it is not yet known whether giving combination chemotherapy together with cetuximab is more effective than combination chemotherapy alone. This open-label trial investigates the effectiveness of cetuximab in combination with a standard and effective chemotherapy (5-Fluorouracil (5FU)/Folinic acid (FA) plus irinotecan) for metastatic colorectal cancer in first-line setting, compared to the same chemotherapy alone on patient expressing the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. Patients expressing this EGF Receptor will be randomly assign in one of the 2 groups to either receive the combination chemotherapy alone or with cetuximab (open-label study) and will then be treated until progression of the disease or unacceptable toxicity occur. Regular efficacy assessments (every 8 weeks) based on imaging will be performed throughout the study together with regular safety assessments (e.g. safety labs). An independent Safety Board of experts will also monitor safety data. After participant discontinuation from the trial, regular updates on further treatments and survival status will be requested from the investigator. The entire study (from the first patient entering the study to the last collect of follow-up information) is 4-5 years long.