Active clinical trials for "Liver Neoplasms"

The study is prospective, phase II study, The primary objective of the study is evaluation of the feasibility and safety of intraoperative electrochemotherapy of colorectal liver metastases. The secondary objective is to determine the efficacy of electrochemotherapy treatment, based on histological and radiological evaluation of treated metastases. The endpoints are: toxicity according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) ver. 4.0 and response rate measured by percentage of vital tumor cells and mRECIST criteria.

This research study is a Phase II clinical trial. Phase II clinical trials test the effectiveness of an investigational combination of drugs to learn whether the drug combination works in treating a specific cancer. "Investigational" means that the modified FOLFOX and sorafenib combination is still being studied and that research doctors are trying find out more about it-such as the safest dose to use, the side effects it may cause, and if the combination is effective for treating different types of cancer. It also means that the FDA has not yet approved the modified FOLFOX and sorafenib combination that will be used in this study for liver cancer. FOLFOX is a combination of three drugs: folinic acid (leucovorin), fluorouracil (5-FU), and oxaliplatin. The dosage amounts for some of these FDA approved drugs will be modified slightly in this study. The FOLFOX combination is approved by the FDA and is a standard treatment of colorectal cancer. However, it is not approved for the treatment of liver cancer. Sorafenib is a new drug, which is approved under the brand name Nexavar for the treatment of liver cancer. It is also currently being tested in various other cancers. Sorafenib works by slowing down and/or stopping the development of new cancer cells and new blood vessels. By slowing down and/or stopping the growth of new blood vessels around a tumor, it is believed that sorafenib prevents or slows down the growth of tumors. In this research study, sorafenib, the standard treatment, is being combined with modified FOLFOX, which has shown some antitumor activity in liver cancer.

The most frequently used products in CHE are doxorubicin (36%), cisplatin (31%), and epirubicin (12%). But until recently, there were no obvious reasons to use one product over another. In fact, systemic chemotherapy is considered ineffective in HCC [hepatocellular carcinoma], which does not allow any argument in favour of the product. Moreover, 2 randomised trials comparing the molecules (doxorubicin vs. epirubicin) proved to be negative in terms of survival. Cytotoxicity of different anticancer agents on HCC cell lines have been compared in order to select the best candidate for CHE. Eleven chemotherapy molecules have been tested, including those more frequently used in CHE. Among them, idarubicin (an anthracycline) proved to be the most effective in vitro by far. The superiority of idarubicin (as opposed to doxorubicin) was noted especially on the SNU-449 line, which is known for its resistance to several chemotherapy agents. The best cytotoxicity of idarubicin can be explained by 2 mechanisms: 1) idarubicin has a better intracellular penetration than the other anthracyclines. This is probably due to its more considerable lipophily, facilitating thus its passage through the membrane made up of a double lipid layer, 2) idarubicin is resistant to the multidrug resistance system (MDR). The MDR mechanism, which is often noted in HCC, consists of membrane pumps transporting the molecule outside the cell. These two particularities could explain a more significant accumulation of idarubicin in the HCC cells, and thus better efficacy. It is interesting to note that orally administered idarubicin (5 mg/day for 21 days) has proved to be less toxic and is effective in HCC. Currently, idarubicin is used to treat leukaemia. Its toxicity profile (especially, haematological and cardiac) is known. On these grounds, A pilot study has been conducted in order to assess the tolerance and efficacy of lipiodol-based CHE using a 10 mg dose of idarubicin in 21 patients with unresectable HCC. These preliminary data reveal that CHE with idarubicin is effective and less toxic. Idarubicin can be loaded in microbeads. A phase I study (IDASPHERE) has been conducted on DC Beads® microbeads (300-500µm) loaded with idarubicin (dose increased from 5 to 25 mg). The DLT [dose-limiting toxicity] and MTD [maximum tolerated dose] have been determined in 21 patients using a CRM. The MTD of idarubicin was assessed at 10 mg. In our study, the idarubicin-loaded beads did not give rise to any specific toxicity-related problem. The 10 mg dose is compatible with the known toxicity profile of idarubicin: cumulative cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin is noted from 550 mg/m², whereas that of idarubicin is noted from 93 mg/m². There is thus a 5.9:1 ratio between their cumulative toxicities. The most frequently used dose (and also the weakest one) for the doxorubicin-based CHE is 50 mg. The equivalent of the idarubicin dose would thus be: 50 mg (doxorubicin) / 5.9 (doxorubicin/idarubicin ratio) = approx. 10 mg of idarubicin. It has been already demonstrated that hepatic extraction of idarubicin is better than those of doxorubicin and daunorubicin in an animal sarcoma model. In this study, AUC 0-48h and AUC 0-72h were 1.35 times higher with idarubicin, proving that its intra-hepatic penetration was 35% higher. The randomised phase II PRECISION V study compared conventional CHE (cCHE) with CHE by doxorubicin beads (DC Bead®) in patients with HCC. It is currently the largest randomised trial on CHE published. The PRECISION V data can be thus used to compare the other studies in terms of efficacy and tolerance. To continue our preliminary study and the phase I IDASPHERE study, investigators wish to assess thus the efficacy and confirm the tolerance of idarubicin-loaded beads for the CHE of HCC according to a protocol similar to PRECISION V, as part of a single-arm phase II study.

Background: - Tremelimumab is a cancer treatment drug that helps the immune system recognize and destroy cancer cells. Researchers want to see if it can be used to treat advanced liver cancer. The drug will be given with one of two types of treatment for liver cancer. The first type, transarterial catheter chemoembolization (TACE), injects chemotherapy drugs into the tumor through the main blood vessel that is feeding it. That blood vessel is then closed off to help keep the drugs in the tumor longer. The second type, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), uses a heated probe to destroy the tumor tissue. Researchers want to study how safe and effective these treatments are with the study drug. Objectives: - To test the safety and effectiveness of Tremelimumab with TACE or RFA for advanced liver cancer. Eligibility: - Individuals at least 18 years of age who have advanced liver cancer that has not responded to other treatments.

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a new, minimal-invasive image-guided treatment method for tumors not amenable for surgical resection or thermal ablation, due to vicinity near vital structures such as vessels and bile ducts. With IRE, multiple electrical pulses are applied to tumorous tissue. These pulses alter the existing transmembrane potential of the cell membranes, and create 'nanopores', after which the cell dies through loss of homeastasis. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of percutaneous and open IRE in the treatment of patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) that are unsuitable for resection or thermal ablation due to vicinity to vulnerable structures such as vessels and bile ducts. Other objectives are safety, feasibility (technical success) and imaging characteristics on follow-up (PET-)CT and PET-MRI and the value of these imaging modalities in dianosing local site recurrence (LSR) or residual disease (RD). 29 patients with histologically confirmed colorectal carcinoma who present with unresectable and not thermally ablative CRLM< 3.5cm suitable for IRE will undergo percutaneous or open irreversible electroporation of the tumor using CT and ultrasound guidance. All (serious) adverse events are registered. One day post-IRE MRI is performed to assess technical success. Follow-up will consist of frequent (PET-)CT and (PET-)MRI scanning to localize residual or recurrent disease. Overall technique effectiveness is determined 1 year after treatment. The investigators hypothesize that IRE for central CRLM will lead to good tumor control without causing severe complications.

Most studies of cancer stem cells (CSC) involve the inoculation of cells from human tumors into immunosuppressed mice, preventing an assessment on the immunologic interactions and effects of CSCs. In this study, the investigators examined the vaccination effects produced by CSC-enriched populations from histologically distinct murine tumors after their inoculation into different syngeneic immunocompetent hosts. Enriched CSCs were immunogenic and more effective as an antigen source than unselected tumor cells in inducing protective antitumor immunity.Immune sera from CSC-vaccinated hosts contained high levels of IgG which bound to CSCs, resulting in CSC lysis in the presence of complement.CTLs generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells or splenocytes harvested from CSC-vaccinated hosts were capable of killing CSCs in vitro. Mechanistic investigations established that CSC-primed antibodies and T cells were capable of selective targeting CSCs and conferring anti-tumor immunity.

RATIONALE: Sorafenib tosylate may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as hypoxia-activated prodrug TH-302, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving sorafenib tosylate together with hypoxia-activated prodrug TH-302 may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of giving sorafenib tosylate together with hypoxia-activated prodrug TH-302 and to see how well they work in treating patients with advanced kidney cancer or liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery.

Hepatectomy is difficult when the tumor is adjacent to the big vessels of the liver and some patients can not receive radical resection. Such patients have high risk of recurrence. Tumor resection and postoperative radiation is an option for such patients to achieve radical treatment and radiation may reduce local recurrence.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of vorinostat when given together with sorafenib tosylate in treating patients with advanced liver cancer. Sorafenib tosylate and vorinostat may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth or by blocking blood flow to the tumor.

Studies done in the laboratory have demonstrated beneficial effects of ON 01910.Na, a new, unapproved drug, when it is used in combination either irinotecan and oxaliplatin, two approved, extensively used anti-cancer drugs. In these laboratory studies, mice implanted with cells (Bel-7402 cells) that came from a human tumor were used as a model of liver cancer. In mice that were not treated, the Bel-7402 cells formed very large tumors. In mice that were treated with ON 01910.Na, irinotecan or oxaliplatin alone, growth of tumors was reduced compared to the untreated group. When a combination of ON 01910.Na and irinotecan or of ON 01910.Na and oxaliplatin was used to treat the mice, tumor growth was completely inhibited. Another observation in these studies was that toxicity did not increase when the combinations were used. These results and similar results from other studies support the hypothesis that a combination of ON 01910.Na and irinotecan or of ON 01910.Na and oxaliplatin would be an effective and tolerable treatment for liver and other types of cancer. The primary objective of this phase 1 study is to find out what doses of ON 01910.Na in combination with either irinotecan or oxaliplatin are safe and tolerable in patients with liver and other types of cancer.