Active clinical trials for "Liver Neoplasms"

The purpose of this study is to collect data on the safety and potential effectiveness of 2nd generation designer T cells delivered into the hepatic circulation in patients with liver metastases expressing the CEA tumor marker. Designer T cells are prepared by collecting white blood cells from the participant, and then modifying these cells in the laboratory so that they recognize the tumor antigen, CEA. These modified cells are then given back into the participant so that they can attack and kill tumor cells. The investigators hypothesize that regional delivery of the designer T cells directly into the hepatic artery will minimize systemic toxicity and optimize the changes for therapeutic effect.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fluorouracil, cisplatin, oxaliplatin, and gemcitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known whether giving fluorouracil and cisplatin together with radiation therapy is more effective than giving gemcitabine together with oxaliplatin in treating nonmetastatic biliary tract cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II/III trial is studying fluorouracil, cisplatin, and radiation therapy to see how well they work compared to gemcitabine and oxaliplatin in treating patients with nonmetastatic biliary tract cancer that cannot be removed by surgery.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as capecitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving capecitabine after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. Sometimes, after surgery, the tumor may not need more treatment until it progresses. In this case, observation may be sufficient. It is not yet known whether capecitabine is more effective than observation in treating biliary tract cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying capecitabine to see how well it works compared with observation in treating patients with biliary tract cancer.

RATIONALE: Sorafenib tosylate and everolimus 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. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying giving sorafenib tosylate together with everolimus to see how well it works compared with sorafenib tosylate alone in treating patients with localized, unresectable, or metastatic liver cancer.

The purpose of this protocol is to provide TheraSphere treatment for patients with liver cancer who cannot be treated by surgery. The effect on the tumor and any side effects of TheraSphere treatment will be examined. This study will provide supervised and limited access to TheraSphere treatment at University California Irvine Medical Center. TheraSphere is a medical device containing yttrium-90 (Y-90), a radioactive material that has been used previously in the treatment of liver tumors. When Y-90 is incorporated into very tiny glass beads (TheraSphere), it can be injected to the liver through blood vessels supplying the liver. This allows a large dose of radiation to be delivered to the tumor with less risk of toxic effects from radiation to other parts of the body or to healthy liver tissue. The radiation from TheraSphere is contained within the body and becomes minimally active within 7 days after treatment due to physical decay. The glass beads remain in the body, but do not cause any health problems. TheraSphere has been approved for use in the treatment of liver cancer in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration on a limited basis.

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and tolerability of OXi4503 in subjects with relapsed or refractory carcinomas with hepatic tumor burden.

RATIONALE: Octreotide may stop or slow the growth of tumor cells and may be an effective treatment for liver cancer. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well octreotide works in treating patients with locally advanced or metastatic liver cancer.

A study is being conducted by the University of Rochester Cancer Center (URCC) in which patients with liver cancer will be treated with high dose conformal radiation therapy. This type of radiation uses new techniques which aim the radiation to the sites of disease allowing the tumor to receive a high dose and the surrounding normal liver tissue to receive a low enough dose that the normal tissue should remain free from injury. The purpose of the study is to determine if the conformal radiation therapy is safe, tolerable and effective in treating liver cancer and to determine the side effects caused by this treatment. A second objective is to determine if the levels of a special type of protein (called cytokines) found in the blood are related to this treatment.

A minority of patients with colorectal liver metastases and hepatobiliary cancer (primary liver cancer) are candidates for surgery, but there are no curative treatment options for these patients. Their median survival time is 3 to 12 months. Stereotactic radiation (SRT) (highly conformal radiotherapy (CRT)) is a treatment option for these patients with unresectable liver cancer, now possible due to improvements in our ability to localize and immobilize liver tumors and an improved understanding of the partial liver volume tolerance to radiation. SRT should permit liver tumors to be treated to tumorcidal doses while sparing the uninvolved liver, decreasing the risk of treatment related normal tissue toxicity. With such conformal radiation, it is possible to deliver radiation in fewer fractions than traditionally required, which should be more convenient for patients. In this study, CRT will be delivered during shallow breathing or breath hold to minimize organ motion due to breathing, decreasing the volume of normal liver that must be irradiated.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy such as epirubicin use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Thalidomide may stop the growth of hepatocellular (liver) cancer by stopping blood flow to the tumor. Combining epirubicin with thalidomide may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining epirubicin with thalidomide in treating patients who have unresectable or metastatic liver cancer.