Active clinical trials for "Gastrointestinal Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Interferon alfa may interfere with the growth of the cancer cells. Combining interferon alfa with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of fluorouracil plus interferon alfa in treating patients who have advanced metastatic carcinoid tumors.

This phase II trial studies how well temsirolimus and bevacizumab work in treating patients with advanced endometrial, ovarian, liver, carcinoid, or islet cell cancer. Temsirolimus may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, 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. Bevacizumab may also stop the growth of cancer by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Giving temsirolimus together with bevacizumab may kill more tumor cells.

The present protocol is a phase 2 study designed to investigate the potential application of allogeneic cell-mediated immunotherapy in metastatic solid tumors, similarly to the well established graft versus leukemia (GVL) effects, in patients with metastatic solid tumors resistant to conventional treatment modalities. Patients will be eligible to participate in a treatment program based on systemic administration of mismatched lymphocytes activated in vitro with rIL-2 (LAK) followed by rIL-2 inoculation in vivo. This treatment is aiming to induce an anti-tumor effect mediated by the efficient killing activity of the rIL-2 activated cells. Prior to cell infusion patients will receive the conditioning treatment with low dose Cyclophosphamide (Cyc) or Fludarabine with 2 injections of low dose alpha interferon. Cell therapy will be combined with specific anti-tumor monoclonal antibodies if available for the specific disease. Further activation of the anti-tumor activity of alloreactive donor T cells and natural killer (NK) cells will be accomplished by in vivo inoculation of rIL-2, aiming for enhancing the anti-cancer potential of donor-derived effectors cells. Patients will receive one - three cycles of cell therapy, as long as there are no signs of Graft- versus - Host - disease (GVHD) and the malignant disease is controlled.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as irinotecan, fluorouracil, and leucovorin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of irinotecan when given together with fluorouracil and leucovorin in treating patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer.

The study will determine if changes in expression of markers involved in the 5-FU pathways are associated with response to treatment with the combination of lapatinib and capecitabine independent of tumor erbB2 status.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of erlotinib hydrochloride when given together with cetuximab and to see how well they work in treating patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer, head and neck cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, or colorectal cancer. Erlotinib hydrochloride may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. 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. Erlotinib hydrochloride and cetuximab may also stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Giving erlotinib hydrochloride together with cetuximab may kill more tumor cells.

EGF104578 is two-part study (Pilot part/Randomized part).Pilot part is designed to find the optimal (best) doses of lapatinib and paclitaxel when given together,Randomized part is designed to evaluate the overall survival in patients receiving lapatinib and paclitaxel compared to patients receiving only paclitaxel.

RATIONALE: AMG 706 and octreotide 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 AMG 706 and octreotide work in treating patients with low-grade neuroendocrine tumors.

Obstruction of the digestive tract is a frequent cause of morbidity in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.Palliative endoscopic treatment with self- expanding metal stents(SEMS)is an alternative to palliative surgery and other palliative treatment options.The method has expanded to include patients with malignancies in the esophagus,gastroduodenal region, biliary tractus and colon. Numerous retrospective studies have reported treatment with SEMS to be safe and effective. Prospective studies,and especially studies regarding Quality of Life improvement are needed. PURPOSE: The purpose of this trial is to prospectively study the use and effect of selfexpanding metal stents(SEMS)in a defined population i Norway, especially Quality of Life changes.

The purpose of this study is to determine if the, MR guided, laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) treatment technique can be safety and efficiently used for the human liver metastasis