Active clinical trials for "Liver Neoplasms"

Background: - TRC105 is an experimental cancer drug. It is designed to slow or stop the growth of tumors. It does this by preventing the growth of new blood vessels that feed these tumors. People with hepatocellular carcinoma (or liver cancer) sometimes do not respond to standard treatments. This includes the cancer drug sorafenib. Objectives: - To test the safety and effectiveness of TRC105 to treat liver cancer that has not responded to standard therapy. Eligibility: People at least 18 years of age who have hepatocellular carcinoma (or liver cancer) that has not responded to standard therapy. Participants also will not be eligible for a liver transplant. No anticoagulation therapy is allowed with the exception of low-dose aspirin. No history of bleeding disorders, peptic ulcer disease or gastritis. Design: Participants will have a physical exam and medical history. They will also have blood and urine tests, and imaging studies. Participants will receive TRC105 once a week. They will also have two daily doses of a steroid the day before each treatment. This will help prevent known side effects. Participants will be monitored with blood and urine tests. They will also have imaging studies every two months to study the effect of the drug on tumor growth. Participants will continue to have TRC105 as long as they do not have severe side effects and their liver cancer stops growing or shrinks. After stopping TRC105, they will have yearly visits with physical exams and blood tests.

The working hypothesis is that oral administration of an attenuated strain of Salmonella typhimurium is safe and efficacious for patients with unresectable hepatic metastasis from a solid tumor cancer. The primary objective of the study is to determine the MTD of Salmonella typhimurium in the treatment.

RATIONALE: Chemoembolization kills tumor cells by blocking the blood flow to the tumor and keeping anticancer drugs near the tumor. Sunitinib malate 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. It is not yet known whether chemoembolization is more effective with or without sunitinib malate in treating patients with liver cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II/III trial is studying the side effects of chemoembolization of the liver and to see how well in works when given together with or without sunitinib malate in treating patients with liver cancer.

The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if the combination of AvastinTM (bevacizumab) and Tarceva (erlotinib hydrochloride) can help to control advanced liver cancer. The safety of this drug combination will also be studied.

Background: Sorafenib is a drug that has been approved to treat kidney and liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC) and has been shown to prolong survival in patients with HCC. It works by slowing the spread of cancer cells, but it does not fully prevent the cancer from growing again. Researchers are interested in combining sorafenib with the experimental drug TRC105, which has been designed to block the growth of blood vessels that lead to tumor growth, in order to determine whether this drug combination stops tumor growth and reduces tumor size better than sorafenib alone. Objectives: To determine the safety and effectiveness of the combination of sorafenib and TRC105 as a treatment for hepatocellular cancer that has not responded to other treatments. Eligibility: Individuals at least 18 years of age who have been diagnosed with hepatocellular cancer that has not responded to other treatments, and who are not considered to be candidates for liver transplantation. Patients cannot be receiving anticoagulant therapy with the exception of low dose aspirin. No history of bleeding problems or peptic ulcer disease. Design: Participants will be screened with a full medical history and physical examination, blood and urine tests, and tumor imaging studies. Participants will have a tumor biopsy or provide previously collected tumor tissue for study. An examination of the esophagus to look for problems with blood vessels will be completed in patients with a history of cirrhosis. Participants will receive sorafenib tablets twice every day, in the morning and at night, with a full glass of water. Participants will receive TRC 105 infusions once every two weeks on days 1 and 15 of a 28 day cycle. At each visit during the first cycle, participants will have a physical examination and blood tests. Participants will continue to have blood tests and a urine test every cycle to monitor the effects of treatment, including tests of kidney function. Participants will have imaging studies after every two cycles to evaluate the results of treatment, and may also provide tumor samples for study. Treatment will continue as long as the tumor does not grow and side effects remain tolerable.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Chemoprotective drugs, such as sodium thiosulfate, may protect normal cells from the side effects of chemotherapy. It is not yet known whether giving sodium thiosulfate is effective in reducing hearing damage caused by cisplatin in treating young patients with liver cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying how well sodium thiosulfate works to decrease hearing loss caused by cisplatin in treating young patients with stage I, stage II, or stage III childhood liver cancer.

This phase I trial studies the side effects and best dose of sorafenib tosylate in treating patients with liver cancer who have undergone a liver transplant. Sorafenib tosylate 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. Giving sorafenib after liver transplant may be an effective treatment for liver cancer

RATIONALE: Sorafenib tosylate 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. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as doxorubicin hydrochloride and mitomycin C, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Chemoembolization kills tumor cells by carrying drugs directly into the tumor and blocking blood flow to the tumor. Giving sorafenib tosylate before and after chemoembolization may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying the side effects and how well giving sorafenib tosylate before and after hepatic arterial chemoembolization with doxorubicin hydrochloride and mitomycin C works in treating patients with localized liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery.

Autologous Vigil™ vaccine expresses rhGMCSF and bi-shRNAfurin from the Vigil™ plasmid. The GMCSF protein is a potent stimulator of the immune system, recruiting immune effectors to the site of intradermal injection and promoting antigen presentation. The furin bifunctional shRNA blocks furin protein production at the post transcriptional and translational levels. This decrease in furin in turn decreases the conversion of the proforms TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 proteins. Also, reduced furin protein levels have a negative feedback inhibition on TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 gene expression, decreasing the levels of their mRNAs. The resulting decrease in TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 proteins reduces the local immunosuppression they cause and promotes tumor surface antigen and MHC protein display.

This study is designed to see whether stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) can reduce tumour size, slow progression of the disease, prolong life and improve quality of life. SBRT is concentrated focused radiation therapy delivered very precisely to the liver tumour. Presently, the treatment for unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer is most often chemotherapy or novel targeted therapy. These treatments may improve survival, but not control the metastases permanently; so new treatments are needed to control metastases. It is hoped that knowledge obtained from this study will improve our ability to treat patients with liver tumours that cannot be treated with surgery and other methods, and that SBRT may prove to be a treatment that can lead to long-term and permanent control of liver tumours for some patients.