Active clinical trials for "Melanoma"

Plaque radiotherapy is a common treatment for uveal melanoma. However, local failure has been reported in up to 20% of patients. We use intraoperative ultrasonography at plaque insertion and removal to evaluate plaque movement as a potential factor in local failure.

Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive and highly malignant cancer. The five-year survival rate of patients with metastatic disease is less than 5% with a median survival of only 6-10 months. Drugs like Dacarbazin (DTIC) as a single agent or in combination with other chemotherapy agents, have a response rate of 15-30%, but the duration of response is usually short, with no impact on survival. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) based immunotherapy has shown more promising results. This form of therapy has a similar response rate with some patients achieving a durable complete response. Recently the National Institute of Health (NIH) reported that by using lympho-depleting chemotherapy, followed by an adoptive transfer of large numbers of anti-tumor specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), an objective regression was achieved in 51% of patients with metastatic melanoma. Objectives: To introduce the TIL technology to advanced metastatic melanoma patients in Israel.

The purpose of this multicenter study is to examine whether the proposed randomized treatment regime results in a significantly longer survival time and higher quality of life than any additionally applied multiple chemotherapy according to the CVD- scheme. So far neither established treatment regimes nor reliable data exist for the second-line chemotherapy of metastatic malignant melanoma. Patients are therefore mostly treated with single or multiple chemotherapeutics or/and immunomodulatory therapeutics. These regimes however imply often not only a higher toxicity but show rarely a response rate higher than 10%.

Subjects are randomized to one of two treatment arms. All subjects are screened for eligibility within 28 days prior to randomization. The study consists of a treatment phase and a follow-up phase. Subjects are treated in repeating 4 week cycles.

This is a Phase III study in patients with melanoma that has spread to the lymph nodes and/or a distant organ, and who have had all of their cancer surgically removed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of the CancerVax™ vaccine to prevent or slow the recurrence of melanoma.

Over 5 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year, more than all other cancers combined. Most of these cases are caused by excess exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and artificial sources such as indoor tanning. Melanoma, approximately 87,000 of the annual skin cancer cases and one of the more deadly skin cancers, is on the rise. Previous research on these individuals suggests that while some change how much time they spend in the sun and adopt ways to protect themselves when in the sun, many do not. In our previous study, we found that 20% of melanoma survivors reported a sunburn in the past year and 10% intentionally went outside for a tan, both strong indicators of inappropriate sun exposure. Melanoma survivors are at high risk of second melanomas, making it critical that they spend less time in the sun or take actions to protect themselves when they are in the sun. No studies to date have investigated technology-based strategies in melanoma survivors to improve sun exposure and protection behaviors. This project will test whether a wearable device that tracks sun exposure and provides alerts regarding sun exposure and protection behaviors will increase sun protection behaviors in melanoma survivors. The use of wearable technology devices (e.g., Fitbit) has grown quickly over the last decade and studies using these devices to promote physical activity and weight loss have been promising. We will test the technology device versus a similar control device in 368 melanoma survivors and compare sun protection behaviors between the two groups. This project has the potential to identify a strategy that could significantly lower the number of melanoma survivors who go on to have a second melanoma diagnosis. Importantly, this easy to use technology could also be utilized by survivors' family members, who are also at higher risk for melanoma, and the general population as a means to reduce risk of all forms of skin cancer.

The specific aim of this study is to determine if interactive touchscreen-based learning with deliberate practice modules can enhance the retention of life-saving medical skills when incorporated into medical training curricula. We will analyze the retention and confidence of screening skills by comparing outcomes on pretest and posttest in each arm.

Circulating tumor DNA detection and quantification in patients with metastatic choroidal melanoma.

This is a four-phase educational intervention for primary care practitioners (PCPs) to perform opportunistic melanoma surveillance. Based on prior research, the investigator will develop an interactive melanoma early detection skills training program for PCPs according to the principals of mastery learning. The proposed educational intervention will improve practicing PCPs' knowledge, competence, confidence, and diagnostic performance regarding pigmented lesions and attitude concerning importance of skin surveillance. In addition, this research aims to examine the clinical proficiency of PCPs regarding pigmented lesions. The proposed educational intervention will reduce the percentage of benign lesions referred to dermatology.

Studies in animals and retrospective studies in humans show that regional anesthesia reduces metastatic cancer dissemination. The investigators hypothesize that in patients suffering from malignant melanoma who have to undergo radical inguinal lymph node dissection immune function will be less compromised and long term survival will be superior when spinal anesthesia is compared to general anesthesia.