Active clinical trials for "Sarcoma, Kaposi"

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is an AIDS-related cancer and is the most commonly reported cancer in Zimbabwe. If it is found early on, it may be treatable with antiretroviral therapy (ARVs) alone and this will improve general well-being and ease of care. It may also be possible to avoid use of expensive chemotherapy if the KS is picked up early on in the course of the disease. Early KS is often overlooked or not recognized by health professionals. The purpose of the study is to learn more about if the level of medical care and treatment provided at primary care clinics in Zimbabwe will help people with AIDS-KS do better and maintain their health longer. This will be done by monitoring how KS is diagnosed and treated at the primary care clinics. Clinics will then have training in how to recognize and treat KS so that they can better identify and care for patients with the disease.

This is a pilot study to determine the efficacy, kinetics and safety of aldoxorubicin in HIV positive subjects with Kaposi's sarcoma.

Kaposi sarcoma remains the most common malignancy among persons with HIV. Lesions localized to the airway may cause bleeding, pain and dyspnea. New therapeutic approaches for local disease are needed. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of intralesional bevacizumab + HAART vs HAART alone in treating localized Kaposi´s sarcoma of the airway in patients with AIDS.

Background: - Pomalidomide is a drug that can treat cancer through several mechanisms. It is taken by mouth (orally). Pomalidomide can help treat cancer by blocking certain factors that promote tumor growth or by stimulating the immune system to attack tumor cells. It also prevents the growth of new blood vessels that help cancer grow. Researchers want to see if pomalidomide can treat Kaposi sarcoma, a rare and potentially fatal skin cancer. Because Kaposi sarcoma may be associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, researchers want to test the drug in people with and without HIV infection. Objectives: - To see if pomalidomide is a safe and effective treatment for Kaposi sarcoma in people with or without HIV. Eligibility: Individuals at least 18 years of age who have Kaposi sarcoma. Participants may or may not have HIV infection. Design: Potential participants will be screened with a medical history and physical exam. Blood and saliva samples will be taken and a chest X-ray will be performed. A skin biopsy of a Kaposi sarcoma lesion may be performed if one has not already been done. Other imaging studies may be performed if needed. Participants will take pomalidomide capsules every day for 3 weeks, followed by a 1-week break. These 28 days are one cycle of treatment. Participants will have up six cycles of treatment, unless the lesions completely resolve sooner. If there are signs of improvement after six cycles but the lesions are not completely gone, up to another six cycles of treatment may be given. Treatment will be monitored with frequent blood tests and other studies including photograph and other imaging of skin lesions. Participants will have regular follow-up visits for 5 years after stopping treatment....

The purpose of this pilot study is to determine whether Maraviroc is effective in the treatment of Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS), when it does not remit with standard antiretroviral drug therapy.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known whether doxorubicin is more effective than daunorubicin for AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. PURPOSE: Randomized double-blinded phase III trial to determine if doxorubicin is more effective than daunorubicin in treating patients who have AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether a protease inhibitor-based antiretroviral regimen is more efficacious than a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based antiretroviral regimen in promoting the regression of KS tumor burden in persons with AIDS-related KS in Africa.

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)is the commonest malignancy associated with HIV/AIDS. Therapy for this cancer, which causes substantial morbidity, is suboptimal in resource poor settings. The reasons for this are: advanced state of immunosuppression when patients present for clinical care, concomitant opportunistic infections, non- availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), non-availability and toxicity of chemotherapy (CXT), when available, in patients with full blown AIDS, prohibitive costs of bone marrow support and fiscal constraints in resource poor settings. A recent Cochrane Review assessed the effectiveness of current therapeutic regimens for HIV KS, with a focus on options available in resource poor settings. The major selection criteria for this review were randomized controlled trials for HIV KS in adults. The main conclusions were that data from randomized controlled trials on effective treatments for HIV KS are sparse, particularly among people who are also taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Alitretinoin gel is effective for therapy of cutaneous lesions, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin is effective for advanced KS and radiotherapy is effective for treating cutaneous lesions. Apart from the randomized trial of radiotherapy, no trials applicable to developing settings were identified. Therapy of HIV KS in developing countries thus remains unanswered. The authors concluded that therapies discussed in the review are unlikely to be available or affordable in developing countries where the bulk of HIV infection and KS occur, apart from radiotherapy at a few tertiary centers. However, recent changes in pricing due to the global alliance and access initiatives mean that HAART is likely to be more available and accessible to developing countries in the near future. South Africa now has committed to this at cabinet level and had a task force to address this issue. HAART has been proposed as therapy for HIV KS on the basis of restoring immune competence and minimizing the HIV tat drive to KS formation. It also improves immunologic control of HHV 8 possibly through interrupting the HIV-1- HHV-8 interaction. There has been only one randomised trial conducted in Spain which compared HAART to the combination of HAART and CXT. There is to date no prospective, randomised controlled trial which compares the efficacy of HAART to the standard of care in HIV KS in Africa.

RATIONALE: Herpesvirus is found in the lesions of most patients with Kaposi's sarcoma, and may have a role in causing Kaposi's sarcoma. Valganciclovir is an antiviral drug that acts against many types of herpesviruses and may be an effective treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well valganciclovir works in treating patients with classic non-HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma.

RATIONALE: Valproic acid may help stop the growth of Kaposi's sarcoma cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for tumor cell growth. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying valproic acid in treating patients with HIV-related Kaposi's sarcoma.