Active clinical trials for "Melanoma"

Purpose of investigation: Primary hypotheses: Immunization of patients with 4 melanoma antigen peptides will induce augmented specific IFN-y-producing CD8+ T cells against all 4 antigens simultaneously. Immunization with 4 melanoma antigen peptides will increase the response rate from 10% to 30%. Administration of low-dose IL-2 following each vaccine will result in a greater than 3-fold increase in specific T cells compared to no IL-2. Secondary hypotheses: Immunization will clear the blood of detectable circulating melanoma cells. Tumors that grow despite induction of melanoma antigen-specific T cells may lack expression of antigens, class I MHC, or the TAP peptide transporter, or may fail to show increased expression of mRNA for IFN-y or perforin. Tumors that resist vaccination may express a different array of genes than those that are susceptible to vaccination.

RATIONALE: Biological therapies, such as tumor necrosis factor, may stimulate the immune system in different ways and stop tumor cells from growing. Studying tumor necrosis factor in samples of tumor tissue and healthy tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn how tumor necrosis factor works in tumor tissue and healthy tissue. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying tumor necrosis factor in patients undergoing surgery for primary cancer or metastatic cancer .

For patients who have one or two metastases in the brain, the tumor(s) can often be removed with surgery to relieve symptoms from the tumor(s) and to improve survival. However, about half of all patients who have the tumor(s) removed with surgery will develop regrowth (recurrence) of the tumor. To prevent this regrowth of tumor, some patients receive radiation to the entire brain (whole brain radiation) after surgery. This involves daily treatment for about two to three weeks, and may cause long-term neurological problems, such as memory loss. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is sometimes used instead of surgery to treat brain metastasis. This involves the use of a special head frame and sophisticated computer programs that enable us to deliver a high dose of radiation to a small focused area of the brain in only one treatment. Research has shown that the results of treatment with SRS are as good as surgical removal of the tumor. SRS and surgical resection are considered the standard options for the treatment of brain metastases. This Phase II clinical trial is studying the combination of these two techniques. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of SRS following surgical removal of brain metastases. The outcomes we will be looking at are tumor regrowth after treatment and side effects of treatment.

This is a non-randomized, open label Phase II study comparing bevacizumab and everolimus in the treatment of metastatic melanoma.

RATIONALE: Vatalanib 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 phase II trial is studying how well vatalanib works in treating patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery.

Primary Objective: To determine whether the use of a fibrin sealant applied to axillary soft tissues following node dissection can result in earlier drain removal. Secondary Objectives: To determine the postoperative morbidity rate using fibrin sealant following axillary node dissection. To assess patient-valuation of outcome by performing a cost-benefit analysis using a willingness-to-pay model. To determine if serum levels, lymphatic fluids level, or cutaneous expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-D (VEGF-D), vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) or their receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) correlates with nodal tumor burden or development of lymphedema in patients with melanoma.

Bortezomib will enhance the activity of dacarbazine against melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma. Weekly administration of the combination will prove to be feasible and tolerable at an appropriate dose.

The goal of this clinical research study is to find the highest safe dose of lomustine (CCNU, CeeNUTM) that can be given with temozolomide (TemodarTM) and thalidomide (ThalomidTM) in the treatment of metastatic melanoma that has spread to the brain. The safety and effectiveness of this combination therapy will also be studied.

This was a phase 1/2, open-label, dose-escalation study of arginine deiminase linked via succinimidyl succinate to polyethylene glycol of 20,000 molecular weight (ADI-PEG 20) in subjects with advanced melanoma. ADI-PEG 20 was administered intramuscularly (IM) at escalating doses weekly for 9 weeks (cycle 1) or 8 weeks (subsequent cycles). The primary objectives were to the establish the safety, tolerability, and clinical efficacy of ADI-PEG 20. Secondary objectives included evaluation of the metabolic activity by [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET), pharmacodynamics, correlation of immunogenicity with clinical response, and correlation of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) tumor expression with clinical response.

Background: Sixteen melanoma patients (1 stage IIC, 8 stage III, and 7 stage IV) were treated in a Phase I study to evaluate safety and immune responses, with a vaccine (DC/Apo-Nec) composed of autologous dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with a mixture of apoptotic/necrotic melanoma cell lines (Apo-Nec). Methods: PBMC were obtained from leukapheresis and DCs were generated from monocytes cultured in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4 in serum-free medium. Immature DCs (iDCs) were loaded with gamma-irradiated Apo-Nec cells and injected id without adjuvant. Cohorts of four patients were given four vaccines with 5, 10, 15, or 20 x106 DC/Apo-Nec per vaccine, two weeks apart. Results: The vaccine was well tolerated in all patients. Toxicity to vaccine was mild, and the toxicity-limiting dose has not been reached. We found that 42.3 ±13.7 % melanoma patients´ iDCs were able to phagocyte Apo-Nec cells wich induced DCs maturation, as evidenced by increased expression of CD83, CD80, CD86, HLA class I and II compared to iDCs. Also, after phagocytosis, a 75.2 ±16 % reduction in Dextran-FITC endocytosis was observed compared to iDCs. CCR7 was upregulated upon Apo-Nec phagocytosis in DCs from all patients and accordingly in vitro DC/Apo-Nec cells were able to migrate towards MIP-3 beta. The DTH score increased significatively in the patients after the first vaccination and slightly decreased by the fourth vaccine (Mann-Whitney Test, p<0.05). For patient #1 a positive DTH reaction was detected to her own tumor irradiated cells. The presence of CD8+ T lymphocytes specific to gp100 and Melan A/MART-1 Ags were studied by tetramers binding in HLA-A*0201 patients (7 /15 patients) before and after vaccination. Two patients who remain NED increased Ags their specific T lymphocytes after vaccination. No humoral responses to Apo-Nec cells were detected. With a mean follow-up of 44.5 months post-surgery, the stage IIC pt is NED, 7/8 stage III pts are NED and 7/7 stage IV patients have progressed. Conclussions: We conclude that DC/Apo-Nec vaccine is well tolerated, it induces specific immunity against melanoma Ags and in stage III patients it may prolong disease-free survival, affording protection from relapse in an adjuvant setting.