Active clinical trials for "Breast Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as trastuzumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. It is not yet known which regimen of trastuzumab is more effective in treating early breast cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is comparing two trastuzumab regimens to see how well they work in treating women with HER2-positive early breast cancer.

RATIONALE: Estrogen can cause the growth of breast cancer cells. Hormone therapy using fulvestrant and exemestane, anastrozole, or letrozole may fight breast cancer by blocking the use of estrogen by the tumor cells and by lowering the amount of estrogen the body makes. Lapatinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It is not yet known whether fulvestrant is more effective with or without lapatinib and/or aromatase inhibitor therapy in treating breast cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying fulvestrant with or without lapatinib and/or aromatase inhibitor therapy to compare how well they work in treating postmenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer that progressed after previous aromatase inhibitor therapy.

Consecutive patients with a first diagnosis of breast cancer will be identified at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre (TBCC) and included into the study, if they are going to receive chemotherapy with anthracyclines and / or Trastuzumab and do not have contra-indications for the CMR study. Besides the usual clinical care for these patients (e.g. blood samples before each cycle of chemotherapy; MUGA scans to follow cardiac size and function), the patients will undergo serial contrast-enhanced CMR studies (before, during and 9-12 months after completion of the chemotherapy); patients will be seen at an outpatient clinic in the Dept. of Cardiac Sciences / Heart Function Clinic for a clinical assessment (including ECG, additional blood test like Troponin-T, BNP, 6-minute-walk-test) and recommendations will be made to medical treatment in patients with evidence for heart failure. Time points for the CMR and clinic assessments will be co-coordinated with regularly scheduled test by the TBCC to avoid unnecessary burden for the patients. The oncologists at the TBCC will be blinded to the results of the CMR studies and to laboratory results, unless the participating cardiologists identify a clinical need for communication. Standardized CMR protocols will be employed and all interpretations will be blinded to the time course of the chemotherapy and cardiotoxic side effects. We will test the hypothesis, whether CMR can be useful in patients with potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy to: Identify patients at risk for the development of grade 2-4 cardiotoxic side effects as classified by the NCI guidelines (common toxicity criteria, 2001, 1-12) Identify imaging parameters to predict early or late Cardiotoxicity Provide additional clinical information to optimize medical treatment for heart failure

The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of a dietary supplement, the traditional Asian mushroom Yunzhi, as adjuvant in the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

RATIONALE: Ibandronate and zoledronate may help relieve some of the symptoms caused by bone metastases. It is not yet know whether ibandronate is more effective than zoledronate in treating bone metastases from breast cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying ibandronate to see how well it works compared with zoledronate in treating patients with newly diagnosed bone metastases from breast cancer.

One important approach to change the natural history of advanced breast cancer is that of designing new combination chemotherapies in which the best drugs already available are used together with new anticancer agents devoid of clinical cross-resistance. The possibility of exploiting the combined use of cetuximab and trastuzumab represents an option of potential great impact on the probability of response and long-term therapeutic results for patients with advanced breast cancer and HER2 overexpression.Therefore, patients with tumors that demonstrate EGFR expression and clear-cut erbB-2 overexpression (3+) or limited erbB-2 overexpression (+ or 2+) will be included in the study. Patients will be treated with trastuzumab and cetuximab to study the pharmacokinetics and potential drug/drug interaction of both antibodies as well as the safety and tolerability of this novel combination treatment.

This research focuses on women with breast cancer whose disease has not significantly progressed, but who have 5 or more lymph nodes involved. In this study subjects will receive bevacizumab, a drug which is FDA approved for colon cancer but not for breast cancer, in combination with a regimen of approved chemotherapy drugs known as "dose dense chemotherapy." The study will observe the effectiveness and tolerability of this regimen.

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effect of monoclonal antibody therapy on the body and its effectiveness in treating women who have locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer that was previously treated with combination chemotherapy.

RATIONALE: Examining biomarkers in fine-needle aspiration specimens from women at risk for breast cancer may improve the ability to detect breast cancer cells early and plan effective treatment. PURPOSE: Screening trial to compare specific biomarkers based on fine-needle aspiration specimens from women at increased or normal risk of breast cancer.

The purpose of this study is to determine how well this combination of chemotherapy drugs works with bevacizumab in eliminating primary tumor in the breast prior to surgery(pathological complete response or pCR in the breast). Bevacizumab is a drug that works by blocking new blood vessel formation by the tumor cells. Giving chemotherapy and bevacizumab before surgery may allow for lesser amount of breast tissue to be removed. To be able to predict in the future which patients are more likely to get pCR to this drug combination, specialized tests on tumor tissue will be performed.