Active clinical trials for "Glioma"

Hypofractionated radiotherapy reduce the patient and family burden through decreasing the overall treatment time. This study is to evaluate the clinical end results of the hypofractionated radiotherapy in DIPG compared to the conventional treatment. The non-inferiority of the hypofractionated radiotherapy will result in decrease the hospital, stay or engagement, for more than its half with the same results.

Despite the marginal improvements in survival of patients suffering from malignant glioma treated with gene therapy vectors, the clinical trials conducted so far using viral vectors, in particular adenoviral vectors, have proven that the use of adenoviral vectors is a safe therapeutic approach, even in large, multicenter, phase 3 clinical trials. Treatment of malignant glioma using gene transfer modalities typically consists of surgical debulking of the tumor mass followed by the administration of the viral vectors into the brain tissue surrounding the tumor cavity. This study will combine direct tumor cell killing (TK) and immune-mediated stimulatory (Flt3L) gene transfer approaches delivered by first generation adenoviral vectors.

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a drug called temsirolimus in combination with a drug called perifosine in treating brain tumors that have continued to grow after previous treatment. Temsirolimus is an intravenous drug approved by the FDA for treatment of other cancers (kidney cancer, certain types of lymphoma) but not for brain tumors. Perifosine is a pill that has not been approved by the FDA which blocks a messenger that tells cancer cells to grow. Research suggests that combined treatment with both drugs is better than either alone, and that it is reasonably safe.

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of vorinostat and to see how well it works when given together with radiation therapy followed by maintenance therapy with vorinostat in treating younger patients with newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (a brainstem tumor). Vorinostat may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving vorinostat together with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells.

This study is for patients up to 21 years of age who have a tumor called a low grade glioma of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The tumor has grown despite attempts to control it with chemotherapy or radiation. Low grade gliomas are a group of tumors that tend to grow slowly and could be cured if every bit of the tumor were surgically removed. These tumors are called Grade I or II astrocytomas. These tumors often grow in parts of the brain that prevent total removal without devastating neurologic complications or death. Although some low grade gliomas never grow, most will and are treated with either chemotherapy or radiation. There is good data showing that the growth of most low grade gliomas can be controlled with chemotherapy or radiation. However, some low grade gliomas in children and young adults grow despite these treatments. Poly-ICLC is a new drug that has been used safely in children and adults with different types of brain tumors. Earlier studies showed that this drug worked better for children and young adults with low grade gliomas than for children with more aggressive brain tumors. The main purpose of this study is to use Poly-ICLC treatment in a larger number of patients to see how well it works and how many side effects occur. As Poly-ICLC is not FDA approved, this study is authorized to use it under Investigational New Drug (IND)# 43984, held by Oncovir. Subjects will get injections of Poly-ICLC into muscle two times weekly. The first treatments will be given in the clinic so allergic or other severe reactions, if any, can be monitored. If subjects tolerate the injections and don't have a severe reaction, then the rest of the injections will be given at home. Subjects/caregivers will be trained to give injections. Treatment will last for about 2 years. Subjects may stay on treatment for longer than 2 years if their tumor shrinks in response to the injections, if study doctors think it is safe, if subjects want to remain on treatment, and if Poly-ICLC is available. Risks: Poly-ICLC has been used safely in children and adults at the dose used in this study, and at higher doses. Frequently seen side effects include irritation of the skin at the injection site and mild flu-like symptoms. These are usually relieved or avoided by use of over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen (Tylenol).

RATIONALE: Bafetinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. PURPOSE: This clinical trial studies bafetinib in treating patients with recurrent high-grade glioma or brain metastases.

This study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Enzastaurin, an experimental drug that may prevent the growth of tumor vessels, in combination with Carboplatin, for patients who have a glioma, a type of brain tumor. Carboplatin is used for treating many kinds of cancers, though not recurrent gliomas. Tumor growth involves new cancer cell formation and accumulation, requiring a blood supply. Research shows that brain tumor cells can produce substances that stimulate new blood vessel formation. This study will look into whether the combination of drugs can stop that process. Patients ages 18 and older who have recurring gliomas, who are not pregnant or breast feeding, and who do not have serious diseases may be eligible for this study. About 96 patients will participate for 1 year. They will have a physical examination, give blood and urine samples for analysis, and undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans regarding tumor growth, and perhaps an electrocardiogram. Patients may also undergo a dynamic MRI with spectroscopy or PET scan (positron emission tomography), to distinguish a live tumor from a dying one. Researchers are studying patients taking a certain type of antiseizure medicine and patients who are not taking it because some antiseizure medicines may change the way the body handles a drug such as Enzastaurin. There will be two groups of participants, with 16 to 48 each. Group A is not taking enzyme-inducing antiseizure drugs, and Group B is taking such drugs. In Groups A and B are four dose levels, with 4 to12 patients at each level. Patients' doctors will tell them which group they belong to and how much Enzastaurin and Carboplatin they will take. Treatment consists of Enzastaurin every day for 5 weeks in Cycle 1 only and for 4 weeks beginning with Cycle 2 (each 4-week period as a cycle). Patients take Enzastaurin within 30 minutes after a meal. History, physical, and neurological examinations are repeated at the end of Cycle 1 and then every 4 weeks. Patients will have a repeat head MRI or CT scan before each cycle. If they tolerate the drugs without serious side effects and the tumor is not growing, they may continue with another cycle of Enzastaurin, taking the tablets every day, and Carboplatin being infused on Day 8 of Cycle 1 and on Day 1 of each additional cycle. Routine lab tests are done regularly. Patients will continue the 4-week cycles of treatment for as long as they have no serious side effects and there are no signs of tumor growth. Side effects of Enzastaurin may be fatigue, constipation, cough, and nausea. In men, there may be a decrease in sperm count. Carboplatin can lead to low counts in blood cells and platelets, and there may also be an allergic reaction. Vomiting is a likely side effect. At injection sites, there may be redness, swelling, and pain. This study may or may not have a direct benefit for participants. However, information gained may help the sponsor of the study, Eli Lilly and Company, and may help patients in the future who have gliomas.

The goal of this clinical research study is to find a safe dose of radiation that can be given to patients with brainstem glioma who have already received radiation therapy. You will receive photon radiation therapy. This type of radiation is similar to the radiation you have already had. Conformal radiotherapy or intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) will be used to try to treat the tumor while affecting as little of the surrounding normal tissue as possible.

Many clinical studies have been reported on iMRI, however, their evidence levels are relatively not as good as what people hope they will be. Based on the available literature, there is, at best, level 2 evidence that iMRI-guided surgery is more effective than conventional neuronavigation-guided surgery. The investigators aim to do a single center prospective randomized triple-blind controlled clinical trial to assess the effect of 3.0T high-field intraoperative MRI-guided glioma resection on surgical efficiency and progression-free survival of malignant glioma to provide a level 2A evidence for its clinical application.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of irinotecan in treating patients who have progressive or recurrent malignant glioma.