Active clinical trials for "Gastrointestinal Neoplasms"

The purpose of this prospective, interventional, single-arm pilot study is to evaluate whether virtually delivered group-based physical activity is feasible for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors. AYAs who were diagnosed with cancer and have completed cancer treatment will be recruited for this study. This study will enroll 20 participants in total and will last approximately 3 months.

Acute post-operative pain causes not only discomfort for the patient, but delays recovery by increasing the morbidity of the circulatory system, respiratory system, and immune system, so pain control is one of the important objectives in peri-operative patient management. Patient controlled analgesia (PCA) is a piece of equipment for which the patient can personally control the administration of an analgesic. It is generally used in postoperative pain management because it is a method which can heighten patient satisfaction by reducing complications and obtaining the appropriate level of pain relief. Usually, it is designed to administer an analgesic at a steady speed, and the patient can administer additional medication by pressing a button when the pain is severe. Here, to prevent complications from excessive administration of an analgesic, repeated administration is not allowed within a certain time interval. The PCA equipment can be categorized as electronic and physical according to the force which operates the drug injection pump. Electronic equipment uses electrical energy to apply vermicular movement to the fluid tube to administer the analgesic. Physical equipment is disposable equipment designed to fill an elastomer reservoir bag expanding the material, and its elasticity returns to the original length used to administer the analgesic. The physical equipment is easy to carry and movement is comfortable because there is no need for additional electronic equipment or devices. There is also no need for special training to operate the equipment, and the action mechanism is simple so there is less opportunity for malfunction. The disposable physical equipment accounts for approximately 70% of the domestic market share and it is preferred over the electronic equipment. On the other hand, contrary to the electronic equipment, the physical PCA equipment has the disadvantage of not providing information regarding the history of the equipment's use. The early physical PCA equipment was very simple and only had the function of continually administering medication at a set speed. Hence, it was not sufficient to function as 'patient controlled' pain control equipment. Then, the function of an additional administration button was added so that the patient can personally decide whether to administer an additional amount of analgesic. At the same time, the physical PCA equipment has improved to prevent excessive administration by setting a lock-out time as a safety measure. The following development was Accufuser Selectuss®, where a function was added to select the administration speed from three options. In this way, the physical PCA equipment has continued to evolve in the direction of enhancing safety, convenience, and clinical effectiveness. The advantage of pain control using PCA equipment is that the patient can personally control additional the administration of an analgesic by pressing a button. In the case of existing or imported products, it is designed to administer a bolus by pressing the button, and the pressure presses the PVC bag filled with medication under the button to administer the bolus. Compared to the intravenous route, using an epidural as a PCA administration route has superior analgesic effect, so it can reduce the amount of opioid analgesic administered. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that it has to pass through a narrow and long epidural catheter to deliver the medication to the epidural space which has a relatively higher resistance. Woo Young Medical experimented with their own product Accufuser plus® (Woo Young Medical, Korea), and the results showed that the time taken to empty the bolus bag was approximately 40-80 seconds depending on the dosage. The pressure when a person presses the bolus button on the PCA equipment was repeatedly measured to obtain a mean value, and this pressure was constantly maintained by a machine to measure the time taken to empty the bolus bag. Clinically, it is not easy to continually press the button for 40-80 seconds, so it is difficult to exclude the possibility that the bolus was not administered properly. In addition, when excessive pressure is applied, there is the possibility that the bolus bag may burst. The domestically developed products and Accufuser Omnibus® (Woo Young Medical, Korea) was developed for the purpose of supplementing bolus failure which can occur when using epidural PCA. Within the bolus module, a second elastomeric balloon is installed behind the first bolus bag so the patient does not have to press the bolus button for a long time. Therefore, this research focused on the effectiveness and safety of the domestic product Accufuser Omnibus® (Woo Young Medical, Korea) regarding whether the bolus is sufficiently delivered when it is administered through the epidural route, and compared the results through a comparative clinical trial with imported physical PCA equipment (Infusor SV®, Baxter, USA).

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a combined treatment of nutritional therapy and physical exercise in palliative cancer out-patients. The investigators hypothesize that this combined intervention consisting of an increased energy- and protein intake and physical exercise level improves quality of life (QoL), functional and clinical status.

RATIONALE: Mindfulness relaxation, a technique to help patients quiet their thoughts and relax their bodies before and during chemotherapy, may reduce or prevent nausea and vomiting. It may also help improve mental health, quality of life, and immune function in patients receiving chemotherapy. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying mindfulness relaxation to see how well it works compared to relaxing music or standard symptom management education in treating patients who are receiving chemotherapy for newly diagnosed solid tumors.

This trial tests telephone-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a type of psychotherapy, to reduce fatigue interference with activities, mood, and cognition in advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients and family caregiver burden. ACT includes mindfulness exercises (e.g., meditations, performing activities with greater awareness), identifying personal values (e.g., family, spirituality), and engaging in activities consistent with these values. A total of 40 patient-caregiver dyads were randomly assigned in equal numbers to either the ACT intervention or an education/support condition. Dyads in both conditions participated in six weekly 50-minute telephone sessions. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 2 weeks post-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention. The investigators hypothesize that ACT will lead to improved primary and secondary outcomes as compared to education/support. Study findings will inform a large-scale trial of intervention efficacy.

The investigators have a current trial in China and the US which provides significant support for the safety, cost-effectiveness, accuracy and efficiency of a high resolution microendoscope (HRME)-guided approach in the hands of experienced clinicians. To improve functionality, portability and broader use of this device by non-experts, the investigators recently developed a prototype marHRME platform with an automated, augmented reality (AR)-interpretation that provides an overlaid endoscopic + micro-endoscopic view, facilitating diagnosis and biopsy targeting.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects on strength, balance, and neuropathic symptoms (numbness, tingling, pain, weakness) of a 12 week, bi-weekly, 60 minute, group exercise program designed to improve lower extremity strength and balance with persons with oxaliplatin induced peripheral neuropathy.

RATIONALE: The use of endoscopy to place a metal stent in the large intestine is less invasive than surgery for treating cancer-related bowel obstruction and may have fewer side effects and improve recovery. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of endoscopic placement of a metal stent in treating patients who have cancer-related bowel obstruction.

Esophageal and gastric cancers are a considerable health burden. In the past 10 years the 5-year survival for both cancers has doubled. This is due to a number of factors including advances in neo adjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, physical fitness significantly declines as a result of neo adjuvant an adjuvant therapy. From studies in other cancers it is known that peri operative training improves physical fitness, yet there is little research into its effects in those with upper gastrointestinal cancers. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of a pre-and post operative training program on patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers on their physical fitness and consequently their optimism, quality of life and post operative morbidity.

This randomized, controlled, pilot experiment will evaluate the effects of an aerobic walking intervention on OIPN (oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy) in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer who are already prescribed oxaliplatin (85 mg/m2 every other week for at least six cycles) by their oncologists. Oxaliplatin is a standard chemotherapy treatment for invasive GI cancers that causes OIPN in 85-95% of patients.