Active clinical trials for "Glioma"

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of aflibercept when given together with radiation therapy and temozolomide in treating patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, gliosarcoma, or other malignant glioma. Aflibercept may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving aflibercept together with radiation therapy and temozolomide may kill more tumor cells.

Primary objective: To estimate 6-month progression free survival probability of pts w recurrent malignant gliomas treated w erlotinib + bevacizumab. Secondary Objectives: To evaluate safety & tolerability of erlotinib + bevacizumab among pts w recurrent malignant gliomas To evaluate radiographic response of pts w recurrent malignant gliomas treated w erlotinib + bevacizumab To evaluate pharmacokinetics of erlotinib when administered to pts w recurrent malignant gliomas; & to examine relationship of clinical response to Epidermal Growth Factor (EGFR) expression, amplification, & v-III mutation, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) expression, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) & phosphorylated protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) in archival tumor samples

In this research study, we are looking to study the side effects from the use of proton radiation in treating people with low-grade gliomas that are recommended radiation treatment. We expect response of the tumors to be the same with proton radiation as compared to standard 3D conformal radiation therapy, but also expect less side effects from radiation.

Malignant gliomas, which include Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), are the most common and most aggressive types of brain cancer, accounting for approximately 60% of primary brain tumors. These tumors are characterized by diverse molecular abnormalities (within the same tumor), which, along with the difficulties of many standard chemotherapies crossing the blood barrier, contribute to the very poor response to therapy and poor survival. We recently showed that Dichloroacetate (DCA, an inhibitor of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase) was able to depolarize cancer (but not normal) mitochondria and induce apoptosis in cancer but not normal tissues. We believe that altering the metabolism of cancers like glioblastoma (DCA switches metabolism from the cytoplasmic glycolysis to the mitochondrial glucose oxidation) we inhibit the resistance to apoptosis that characterizes cancer. Because metabolism (i.e. glycolysis) is the end result of many and diverse molecular pathways, the effects of DCA might be positive in cancers with diverse molecular backgrounds. DCA is also a very small molecule that readily crosses the blood brain barrier. Therefore we hypothesize that DCA will be an effective and relative non-toxic potential therapy for malignant gliomas. We are conducting a phase II trial with 2 parallel arms: a) patients with newly diagnosed malignant gliomas and b) patients with recurrent gliomas or gliomas that have failed standard therapy (which includes surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy). All patients need to have a histological diagnosis. DCA will be given orally and patients will be followed for a minimum of 6 months. The tumor size will be followed by standard MRI or CT criteria and glucose uptake (a direct effect of DCA on the tumor) will be measured by FDG-PET imaging. Several clinical parameters and quality of life will be followed. Potential toxicity (particularly peripheral neuropathy) will be closely followed and dose-de-escalation protocols are in place in case of toxicity. In addition, escape protocols for the application of standard therapy (when appropriate) are in place in patients with no evidence of response to DCA. In vitro studies will be performed in the tissues obtained at the time of surgery (where appropriate) and correlated prospectively with clinical data. There is limited ability to accept patients outside of Alberta; this is in part because the visit and testing schedule is intense, requiring residence in Edmonton for at least 6 months.

This phase II trial is studying how well sunitinib works in treating patients with recurrent malignant gliomas. Sunitinib 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.

This is a phase II study of the combination of Avastin and metronomic temozolomide in recurrent malignant glioma patients. The primary objective will be to determine the efficacy of Avastin (bevacizumab) and metronomic temozolomide in malignant glioma patients. The secondary objective will be to determine the safety of Avastin, 10 mg/kg every other week, in combination with metronomic temozolomide in terms of progression-free survival.

This is a multicenter, open-label, ascending-dose trial of the safety and tolerability of increasing doses of Toca 511, a Retroviral Replicating Vector (RRV), administered to patients with recurrent high grade glioma (rHGG) who have undergone surgery followed by adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Patients will receive Toca 511 either via stereotactic, transcranial injection into their tumor or as an intravenous injection given daily for 3 & 5 days, depending on cohort. Approximately 3-4 weeks following injection of the RRV, treatment with Toca FC, an antifungal agent, will commence and will be repeated approximately every 6 weeks until study completion. After completion of this study, all patients will be eligible for enrollment and encouraged to enter a long-term continuation protocol that enables additional Toca FC treatment cycles to be given, as well as permits the collection of long-term safety and survival data.

The aim of the study is to determine the safety of Cilengitide in combination with radiation therapy.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of vandetanib when given together with radiation therapy in treating young patients with newly diagnosed diffuse brain stem glioma.

This is a pilot study. The goal of this study is to test whether Bevacizumab is safe enough in patients with brain tumors so that a larger study can be conducted. This study will also give us some information about whether the combination of Bevacizumab and radiation has potential to become an effective treatment for regrowing brain tumors. Bevacizumab is an experimental drug that blocks a molecule called VEGF that is found in high amounts in malignant gliomas. VEGF promotes the growth of blood vessels that bring nutrients to tumor cells. In studies with laboratory animals, Bevacizumab slowed the growth of several different types of human cancer cells by blocking the effects of VEGF. There is also evidence that Bevacizumab enhances the effects of radiation on tumor cell