Active clinical trials for "Disease Progression"

RATIONALE: Sometimes prostate cancer may not need treatment until it progresses. In this case, active surveillance may be sufficient. Diagnostic procedures, such as magnetic resonance imaging, may be a less invasive method of finding prostate cancer that has progressed. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well magnetic resonance imaging works in detecting cancer progression in patients with early-stage prostate cancer who are undergoing active surveillance.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that involves the sacroiliac joints, axial skeleton, entheses and peripheral joints. Current therapy for AS is mainly NSAIDs and physiotherapy which are oft insufficient. Treatment with the TNF-alpha blocking agent infliximab was shown to have definite clinical efficacy in patients with active AS on a short- and a long-term-basis over 2 years. We want to show that treatment with infliximab on a long-term basis over 4 years is safe and efficient and can prevent radiographic progression over a long period of time. Further we want to learn about the outcome after discontinuation of anti-TNF-alpha therapy.

Classic and endemic Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) are lymphangio-proliferations associated with human herpes virus 8 (HHV8), which treatment is poorly codified. Chemotherapies give at best 30-60% of transient responses. While interferon responses are frequent, this drug is often poorly tolerated in elderly patients. Therefore new therapies are needed. Classic KS represents an ideal model for evaluating new drugs since patients do not receive concomitant immunosuppressive regimens nor antiviral therapies. Pembrolizumab, an anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody has recently been shown to improve survival in several solid tumors. In KS few data are available on the role of PD1-PD-L1 axis. A significant PD-L1 expression on HHV8-associated pleural effusion lymphomas and on KS samples have been recently reported. Our experience in classical and endemic KS supports the role of this pathway with expression of PD-L1 by subpopulations of T cells but also NK cells in peripheral blood cells from these patients and expression of PD-L1 by tumor cells in KS lesions. In this study we will evaluate the benefit and safety profile of pembrolizumab in classic and endemic KS.

Introduction COPD and Asthma affect more than 10% of the population. Most patients use their inhaler incorrectly, mainly the elderly, thereby becoming more susceptible to poor clinical control and exacerbations. Placebo device training is regarded as one of the best teaching methods, but there is scarce evidence to support it as the most effective one to improve major clinical outcomes. Our objective is to perform a single-blinded RCT to assess the impact of this education tool in these patients. Methods and Analysis A multicentre single-blinded RCT will be set, comparing a placebo-device training programme versus usual care, with a one-year follow-up, in elderly patients with Asthma or COPD. Intervention will be provided at baseline, and after 3 and 6 months, with interim analysis at an intermediate time point. Exacerbation rates were set as primary outcomes, and quality of life, adherence rates, clinical control and respiratory function were chosen as secondary outcomes. A sample size of 146 participants (73 in each arm) was estimated as adequate to detect a 50% reduction in event rates. Two-sample proportions Chi-squared test will be used to study primary outcome and subgroup analysis will be carried out according to major baseline characteristics. Discussion The investigators expect to confirm that inhaler performance education will significantly reduce exacerbation rate and improve clinical and functional control. Ethics and dissemination: Every participant will sign a consent form. A Data Safety Monitoring Board will be set up to evaluate data throughout the study and to monitor stop earlier criteria. Identity of all participants will be protected. Results will be presented in scientific meeting and published in peer-reviewed journals.

The pathophysiology of diabetes is multifactorial. Beyond genetic susceptibility loci, a lot of acquired risk factors are involved in the development and progression of the disease. Chronic complications of diabetes can be divided into vascular and nonvascular. The risk of developing complications increases with the duration of hyperglycemia, and usually become apparent in the second decade of hyperglycemia. Vascular complications are further subdivided into microvascular (retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy) and macrovascular (coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, cerebrovascular disease). It is estimated that the annual decline of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in diabetic adults is about 2.1-2.7 ml/min. While there is consolidated evidence about the use of aspirin (ASA) for secondary prevention in diabetic patients, there is no consensus on the use in primary prevention; the use of ASA in these patients is at physician discretion. ASA is an effective antithrombotic agent that inhibits the production of thromboxane (Tx) A2 and other prostaglandins by blocking cyclooxygenase (COX). In patients treated with aspirin, serum TxB₂ level is the most reliable in vivo indicator of COX-1 inhibition than TxA2, due to its short half-life and artifacts associated with platelet activation ex vivo. COX are present in the kidney in the macula densa, in the medulla and in the interstitium. Experimental animals models have demonstrated that COX are involved in regulation of renal blood flow. In particular, in a murine animal model, after the administration of COX inhibitors such as aspirin and celecoxib, it was observed an improvement in renal plasma flow and eGFR, suggesting a role for Tx in the progression of renal damage However, data on the relationship between aspirin and renal function in humans are scarce. In a recent work lead on a large cohort of 800 patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, ASA use was associated with a reduced progression of eGFR <45 ml/min during 2 years of follow-up. Furthermore, basal levels of urinary excretion of TxB2, correlated inversely with the use of aspirin and with the decrease of eGFR at follow-up. The aim of the study is to evaluate the decline in renal function in diabetic patients treated with low-dose aspirin (100 mg/day) vs. untreated diabetic patients.

Data on the progression of liver fibrosis in patients co-infected with HIV taking effective suppressive antiretroviral therapy with no fibrosis or mild-to-moderate fibrosis at baseline are scarce. This uncertainty is reflected in lack of clear guidance on the need for earlier (than F3-F4) treatment in co-infected patients. Within our hepatitis C/HIV co-infection project in Cambodia, the investigators have the opportunity to monitor for short-term fibrosis progression in a cohort of co-infected patients with initial no-to-moderate fibrosis being identified during another ongoing study (HCV-Epi) and contribute relevant data to aid the risk/benefit analysis of postponing HCV treatment in HIV/HCV co-infected patients with initial fibrosis stage F0-F2. The HCV-Monitoring study is a mono-centric prospective cohort study proposing a standardized follow-up (clinical, biological and imaging) to monitor for progression of hepatitis C disease in all patients with HIV infection (on anti-retroviral treatment or not) of Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) who have chronic HCV infection with GT-1, -2, -3 or -6 but are not considered in immediate need of HCV treatment. All adult HIV-infected patients of the cohort (on ART or not yet on ART) of Sihanouk hospital Center of Hope who are identified during the HCV-Epi study having chronic HCV infection (all genotypes) and considered not in immediate need of HCV treatment (= Fibrosis stages F0-F2 and no clinical signs of extra-hepatic disease) will be considered for inclusion and invited to participate. Approximately 70 HCV/HIV co-infected patients with no-to-moderate hepatic fibrosis will be enrolled in this study. Beyond the baseline visit (HCV-Epi), follow-up visits are planned at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. These patient visits will comprise of a history taking and physical examination focused on hepatic disease and blood sampling for basic hematologic and hepatic function parameters. Additionally, patients will be referred every year for ultrasound and transient elastography measurements and sampling for some additional liver function tests and measurement of HCV-RNA viral load.

A randomized, open-label single-center study investigates the efficacy and safety of bilateral renal artery sympathetic denervation by catheter-based radiofrequency ablation on blood pressure and disease progression control in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease(ADPKD). The total number of study subjects will be 100. All of them have diagnosed with ADPKD and hypertension. Patients will be randomized 1:1 (50 with radiofrequency ablation(RFA), 50 only with drugs). Change in average office-based measurements of systolic blood pressure(SBP), average 24-hour systolic blood pressure by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) , incidence of office systolic blood pressure reductions of ≥10, ≥15 and ≥20 mm Hg , office diastolic blood pressure (DBP), number and dosage of blood pressure tablets, total kidney volume (TKV), total cyst volume (TCV), pain related to cystic kidneys and renal function, will be assessed at 12 months of follow-up. The safety variables will be assessed at every visit of follow-up.

The primary aim of this study is to determine if the dietary supplements, glucosamine sulphate and/or chondroitin can limit or reduce structural disease progression whilst providing symptomatic benefit in people with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The specific hypotheses to be tested in the proposed double blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial are that, compared to participants allocated to placebo, participants allocated to either or both of these dietary supplements will demonstrate: reduced medial tibio-femoral joint space narrowing at 2 years AND; reduced knee pain over 1 year These benefits will be achieved by participants allocated to glucosamine sulphate and/or chondroitin (the study treatments) without concomitant: increased use of analgesics reduced health-related quality of life reduced participation in leisure-time physical activity

The investigators propose to conduct a pilot feasibility study of single agent erlotinib in patients with metastatic EGFR mutant adenocarcinoma of the lung with up to one prior treatment with the sole purpose of characterizing the genomic landscape before erlotinib and at the time of disease progression. The logistics of obtaining adequate quality fresh tissue specimens for sequencing studies before therapy and at the time of disease progression in patients with advanced lung cancer are complex and a thorough understanding of the practical challenges in conducting a study like this is crucial. The current proposal will include exome and transcriptome sequencing from blood collected at baseline along with tumor samples obtained prior to starting erlotinib and at the time of disease progression (a total of two tissue samples and one blood sample per patient). If carried out successfully, the proposed strategy very likely will lead to a larger and adequately powered study to understand fully evolving molecular changes due to clonal selection under treatment pressure. The pace of progress in the field of sequencing technology currently underway is only likely to accelerate in the near future yielding richer and highly content-rich information. Moreover, it is likely that genomic information from DNA sequencing and transcriptome will be supplemented by analyses of translatomes and proteomes. The investigators plan to sequence paired tumor specimens from 20 patients with EGFR mutant adenocarcinoma of the lung before treatment with erlotinib and at the time of disease progression following treatment with erlotinib. As the investigators expect some drop off (due to unexpected clinical events precluding a second biopsy at the time of disease progression, poor specimen quality and early discontinuation of therapy for non-progression), the investigators will enroll 40 patients in this trial to get 20-paired specimens.

This study will investigate how well Carbon Acetate PET/CT imaging helps to correctly identify recurrent tumor versus post treatment effects (radionecrosis) in patients with previously treated high grade brain gliomas.