Active clinical trials for "Intestinal Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Giving antibiotics may be effective in preventing or controlling early infection in patients receiving chemotherapy for solid tumors or lymphoma. It is not yet known if levofloxacin if effective in preventing infection. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to determine the effectiveness of levofloxacin in preventing infection in patients receiving chemotherapy for solid tumors or lymphoma.

RATIONALE: Different drug formulations and combinations of drugs may help patients with chronic pain live more comfortably. It is not yet known which regimen is most effective for chronic pain. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of different morphine formulations with or without dextromethorphan in treating chronic pain in patients who have advanced cancer.

RATIONALE: The use of endoscopy to place a metal stent in the large intestine is less invasive than surgery for treating cancer-related bowel obstruction and may have fewer side effects and improve recovery. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of endoscopic placement of a metal stent in treating patients who have cancer-related bowel obstruction.

RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy and total-body irradiation before a donor peripheral blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It also stops the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. The donated stem cells may replace the patient's immune cells and help destroy any remaining cancer cells (graft-versus-tumor effect). Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can also make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving tacrolimus, sirolimus, antithymocyte globulin, and methotrexate before and after transplant may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well sirolimus, tacrolimus, and antithymocyte globulin work in preventing graft-versus-host disease in patients undergoing a donor stem cell transplant for hematological cancer .

RATIONALE: Antiemetic drugs, such as ondansetron, may help to reduce or prevent nausea and vomiting in patients with advanced cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying how well ondansetron works compared to a placebo in treating patients with advanced cancer and chronic nausea and vomiting that is not caused by cancer therapy.

This study will test the impact of newly created and available symptom management patient education brochures on symptom burden [measured via the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS)], health-related quality of life [measured by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-30)], patient satisfaction with care [measured by the Princess Margaret Hospital Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PMH/PSQ-MD 29) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Patient Satisfaction with Radiation or Chemotherapy (EORTC PatSat35 RT/CT)], self-efficacy, and knowledge at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada. These brochures are designed for oncology patients in order to provide a response to symptom screening and are now a standard part of care. Symptom screening occurs at each visit as patients are required to fill out ESAS, that asks about their experience with the occurence and severity of symptoms. The intent of the patient brochures are to acknowledge the screen, validate the symptom and provide knowledge of self-management strategies for symptoms. The brochures also provide information to patients about when and how to seek further help from their oncology team. The hope is that patients will experience a useful response to their screen with all levels of symptoms-from 0-10 in severity It is hypothesized that the addition of patient education symptom management pamphlets on 7 of the symptoms measured by ESAS (appetite, nausea and vomiting, depression, anxiety, fatigue, dyspnea and pain) will provide new and meaningful information which will build knowledge, validate the patient's experience of the symptom, lead to increased satisfaction with care, improved self efficacy in managing and accessing help for the symptom and therefore improved health related quality of life.

RATIONALE: Epoetin alfa may stimulate red blood cell production and treat anemia in patients with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy. It is not yet known whether epoetin alfa is more effective than a placebo in treating anemia in patients receiving chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Randomized double blinded phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of epoetin alfa with a placebo in treating anemia in cancer patients who are receiving chemotherapy.

RATIONALE: Palliative therapy with octreotide may help patients who have bowel obstruction that cannot be removed by surgery to live longer and more comfortably. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of octreotide as palliative therapy in treating patients who have cancer-related bowel obstruction that cannot be removed by surgery.

RATIONALE: The use of endoscopy to place metal stents in the duodenum is less invasive than surgery for treating cancer-related duodenal obstruction and may have fewer side effects and improve recovery. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of endoscopic placement of metal stents in treating patients who have cancer-related obstruction of the duodenum.

The study designed is to evaluate the safety of Canady Helios™ Cold Plasma Scalpel (CHCPS) in patients with solid tumors with carcinomatosis scheduled to undergo surgical resection for cytoreduction. Patients with stage 4 resectable tumors as decided by a multidisciplinary disease management team may be included if the metastatic disease is non-synchronous (e.g. recurrent colorectal carcinoma with hepatic metastasis amenable for surgical resection).. Plasma is an ionized gas typically generated in high-temperature laboratory conditions. Plasma coagulators are currently used routinely as surgical tools with multiple applications that create temperatures between 37° C to 43°C and cause thermal injury. Earlier studies demonstrated the non-aggressive nature of cold plasma. As evidence accumulates, it is becoming clear that low-temperature cold plasma has an increasing role in biomedical applications.