Active clinical trials for "Esophageal Neoplasms"

There is no world-wide consensus on the oncological benefit versus increased morbidity associated with three field lymphadenectomy in patients with esophageal cancer and cervical lymph node metastases. In Asian countries, esophagectomy is commonly combined with a three field lymphadenectomy, including resection of cervical, thoracic and abdominal lymph nodes. However, in Western countries patients with cervical lymph node metastases are generally precluded from curative treatment.

This randomized phase III trial studies how well radiation therapy, paclitaxel, and carboplatin with or without trastuzumab work in treating patients with esophageal cancer. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Monoclonal antibodies, such as trastuzumab, may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. It is not yet known whether giving radiation therapy and combination chemotherapy together with or without trastuzumab is more effective in treating esophageal cancer.

RATIONALE: Everolimus may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well everolimus works in treating patients with previously treated unresectable or metastatic esophageal cancer or stomach cancer.

Nimotuzumab (hR3) is an IgG1 humanized monoclonal antibody that recognized an epitope located in the extra cellular domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Clinical efficacy has been shown in adult with head and neck cancer. The phase I study assessed the safety, and efficacy of the combination of Nimotuzumab administered concomitantly with chemo-radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer tumours.

This randomized phase II trial studies how well docetaxel, oxaliplatin, capecitabine, fluorouracil, and radiation therapy works compared with fluorouracil when given together with oxaliplatin and radiation therapy in treating patients with cancer of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction that has spread from where it started to nearby tissue or lymph nodes. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel, oxaliplatin, capecitabine, and fluorouracil, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) together with radiation therapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed.

The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if giving chemotherapy and radiation therapy before surgery for early-stage esophageal cancer can help to control the disease and if so, for how long. The safety of this treatment will also be studied.

The primary objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of nimotuzumab in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer, comparing it to that of the conventional treatment with radiation and chemotherapy. The secondary objective of this study is to assess the health-related quality of life for the nimotuzumab in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimen, compared to the standard chemoradiation regimen in the treatment of inoperable locally advanced esophageal cancer.

The goal of this research study is to learn if a new type of PET scan (18F-FLT) can help to better detect changes of tumor growth rate (or how active) in esophagus cancer and lung cancer Researchers will study at what time during treatment the 18F-FLT PET scan should be given to get the best results. A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan is a type of scan that uses a radioactive solution to locate cancer cells inside the body. Using the PET scan, doctors can locate solid tumors and collect information about how "active" the cancer cells are. For this study, a new type of solution, [F-18]-fluoro-L-thymidine (FLT), will be used. FLT can detect actively growing tumor, and researchers hope that FLT may be able to help provide information about how well esophagus cancer treatment is working. This information could be used to help predict if the cancer will respond to treatment. All enrolled subjects will receive PET/CT imaging at pre-Neoadjuvant Therapy and post-3 weeks Neoadjuvant Therapy (3 weeks from the start of Neoadjuvant Therapy) prior to the surgery. At each time of the PET/CT procedure, the subject will receive an injection of FLT which is an investigational pharmaceutical labeled with radioactive fluorine. 45-60 mines after the FLT injection, the scan will be performed. Each scan might take 10-15 minutes. Participation in this pilot study will not change the patients normal chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and surgery recommended the patients physician as parts of their standard of care.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays and to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel and cisplatin, 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. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. It is not yet known whether giving radiation therapy together with chemotherapy is more effective with or without cetuximab in treating patients with esophageal cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying giving radiation therapy together with chemotherapy, with or without cetuximab, followed by surgery in treating patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer that can be removed by surgery.

This phase II trial is studying how well saracatinib works in treating patients with locally advanced or metastatic stomach or gastroesophageal junction cancer. Saracatinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.