Active clinical trials for "Lung Neoplasms"

This proposed phase II trial will investigate weekly topotecan at a higher dose than was used in the previous trials in an attempt to achieve improved response rates and disease control without added toxicity. To help ameliorate the fatigue, planned rest weeks will be incorporated into the schedule. This trial will be the first clinical trial to evaluate a higher dose of weekly topotecan in the treatment of extensive-stage SCLC.

This multicenter phase II trial is designed to study the unique combination of chemotherapy (irinotecan./carboplatin) and bevacizumab in the extensive-stage setting. This clinical setting seems ideal for evaluation of the role of bevacizumab in delaying progression and prolonging survival.

The overall goal of this project is to identify strategies to reduce lung cancer incidence and mortality. Using a high-risk occupational cohort, our specific objectives are 1) to establish a biologic specimen bank and data bank that can be used for the validation and refinement of potential early markers of lung cancer, and 2) to establish a cohort for the study of environmental (including dietary) and genetic risk factors for lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from malignant neoplasms in the United States and in many countries around the world. Potential strategies to reduce the incidence and mortality of lung cancer include new methods of early detection and identification and alteration of etiologic factors. The Yunnan Tin Corporation (YTC), located in Yunnan Province in southern China, is a large, nonferrous-metals industry, formed in 1883 and nationalized after the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949. It is involved principally in the production of tin from the mines around the city of Gejiu. The tin miners at YTC have extremely high rates of lung cancer. Among those at high risk, defined as miners 40+ years old with 10+ years of underground mining and/or smelting experience, more than one percent per year develop lung cancer. These extraordinary lung cancer rates result from combined exposure to radon, arsenic, and tobacco smoking in the form of cigarettes and/or bamboo water pipe. The study population for the development of a biologic specimen bank for the study of early markers of lung cancer is all YTC miners considered to be at high risk for lung cancer based on their occupation exposure (40+ years old with 10+ years of underground or smelting experience). Currently numbering over 7,000, this high-risk group has been the target for the annual lung cancer screening program at the YTC for the past 20+ years. For each high-risk miner, sputum samples are collected annually, read for cytologic interpretation, and stored in Saccomanno's solution for future early marker research. Screening chest x-rays are also obtained. Subjects are followed annually to determine if any have developed lung cancer. Diagnostic workup of suspicious cases includes an additional sputum sample and histology specimen(s), which are used for diagnostic purposes and also retained for future research. Additional biologic specimens have also been obtained on screenees for etiologic research, including a one-time collection of whole blood, urine, and toenail clippings. Finger stick bloods and buccal smears for DNA will also be sought....

The main purpose of this study is to describe activity and toxicity of single-agent gemcitabine given as prolonged infusion, and of two 2-drug combinations containing cisplatin (cisplatin + vinorelbine, and cisplatin + gemcitabine) in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer

Stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancers comprising a mediastinal ganglionic invasion N2 account for 20 to 30% of the NSCLCs. They are almost always potentially resectable, but the results obtained by surgery alone or surgery followed by chemotherapy (CT) and/or radiotherapy (RT) are insufficient. The neoadjuvant approach was tested, in randomized tests of exclusive CT, or in noncomparative tests of RT-CT.

The purpose of this study is to predict responses to Erbitux as a single agent in patients with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

The purpose of the study is to determine the dose limiting toxicities and maximum tolerated dose of motexafin gadolinium when administered with docetaxel and cisplatin in patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. A cycle consists of 3 weeks. During week 1, patients receive MGd, docetaxel, and cisplatin treatment followed by 2 weeks without treatment. Eligible patients will receive 1 or 2 doses of MGd, depending on cohort, and a single dose of docetaxel and cisplatin at 75 mg/m² during the first week of each cycle. Additionally, tumor response will be evaluated at the end of even numbered cycles (2, 4, and 6). Patients may stay on the study a maximum of 6 cycles.

The purpose of the study is to measure tumor response rates for three schedules of Alimta(LY231514) in combination with gemcitabine in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non small cell lung cancer who have received no prior chemotherapy regimen.

Background: Previously we have demonstrated induction of tumor antigen and tumor suppressor gene expression in lung cancer cells following exposure to the DNA demethylating agent, Decitabine (DAC). We have also demonstrated that DAC mediated target gene expression and apoptosis can be significantly enhanced in cancer cells by subsequent exposure to the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor Depsipeptide FK228 (DP). Furthermore, we have demonstrated that following DAC, or DAC/DP exposure, cancer cells can be recognized by cytolytic T cells specific for the cancer testis antigen, NY-FSO-1. This Phase I study will evaluate gene induction in thoracic oncology patients mediated by sequential DAC/DP treatment with or without the selective COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib. Objectives: Evaluation of the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of continuous 72-hour intravenous Decitabine (DAC) infusion followed by 4-hour intravenous infusion of Depsipeptide FK228 (DP) with or without oral celecoxib in patients with unresectable cancers involving the lungs or pleura. Analysis of NY-ESO-1, p16 and p21 expression in cancer specimens before and after sequential Decitabine/Depsipeptide treatment. Analysis of serologic response to NY-ESO-1 before and after sequential drug treatment. Analysis of apoptosis in tumor biopsies before and after sequential Decitabine/Depsipeptide treatment. Refinement of laser capture microdissection and micro-array techniques for analysis of gene expression profiles in tumor tissues. Eligibility: Patients with histologically or cytologically proven primary small cell or non-small cell lung cancers, advanced esophageal cancers, pleural mesotheliomas, or non-thoracic cancers with metastases to the lungs or pleura. Patients must be 18 years or older with an ECOG performance status of 0-2 and have adequate pulmonary reserve evidenced by FEV1 and DLCO greater than the 30% predicted, and less than 50 mm Hg and p02 greater than 60 mm Hg on room air ABG. Patients must have a platelet count greater than 100.000. an ANC equal to or greater than 1500 without transfusion or cytokine support, a normal PT, and adequate hepatic function as evidenced by a total bilirubin of less than 1.5 x upper limits of normal. Serum creatinine less than or equal to 1.6 mg/ml or the creatinine clearance must be greater than 70 ml/min/1.73m(2). Design: Patients with inoperable malignancies involving lungs or pleura will receive two cycles of 72-hour intravenous infusion of Decitabine followed by 4-hour Depsipeptide infusion using a Phase I study design. Decitabine will be administered by continuous infusion on days 1-4, and patient cohorts will receive escalating doses of Depsipeptide administered on day 4 and day 10 of a 34 day cycle. Once the MTD and toxicities for sequential DAC/DP have been identified, additional cohorts of 6 lung cancer patients and 6 mesothelioma patients will receive sequential DAC/DP administered at the MTD as outlined above with celecoxib (400mg bid) administered on days 4-34 of each treatment cycle, as a means to enhance target cell apoptosis and facilitate anti-tumor immune recognition/response. Pharmacokinetics, systemic toxicity, and response to therapy will be recorded. Tumor biopsies will be obtained prior to, and after therapy to evaluate expression of NY-ESO-1 tumor antigen, as well as p16 and p21 tumor suppressor genes, which are known to be modulated by chromatin structure. Additional analysis will be undertaken to evaluate the extent of apoptosis in tumor tissues, and to determine if immune recognition of NY-ESO-1 can be demonstrated following sequential DAC?DP +/- celecoxib treatment. As the exact set of comparisons and analyses to be performed will be determined following completion of the trial and will be based on limited numbers of patients, the analyses will be considered exploratory and hypothesis generating rather than definitive. A total of 40 patients will be enrolled.

In this phase II trial, we will evaluate the weekly schedule of topotecan in the first-line treatment of elderly and/or poor performance status patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer. Patients eligible for this trial will be those considered poor candidates for standard combination chemotherapy or other investigational regimens