Active clinical trials for "Nervous System Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of carboplatin plus vincristine in treating children and adolescents with low grade glioma.

RATIONALE: Erlotinib may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for cancer cell growth. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of erlotinib in treating patients who have recurrent or progressive glioblastoma multiforme.

RATIONALE: Genetic studies may help in understanding the genetic processes involved in the development of some types of cancer. PURPOSE: Genetic study to understand how genes may be involved in the development of brain tumors in young children.

RATIONALE: Perfusion magnetic resonance imaging may be an effective method of measuring the growth of blood vessels in brain tumors. These measurements may help doctors better diagnose and treat brain tumors. PURPOSE: Pilot study to determine the effectiveness of perfusion magnetic resonance imaging in measuring the growth of blood vessels in newly diagnosed brain tumors.

RATIONALE: Photodynamic therapy uses light and drugs that make cancer cells more sensitive to light to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known if the addition of photodynamic therapy to combined therapy with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy is more effective than combined therapy alone for supratentorial gliomas. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to study the effectiveness of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy with or without photodynamic therapy in treating patients who have newly diagnosed or recurrent malignant supratentorial gliomas.

RATIONALE: Radioactive drugs such as phosphorus 32 may be able to kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of phosphorus 32 in treating patients with glioblastoma multiforme.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of temozolomide in treating patients who have recurrent or progressive malignant glioma.

Background: The number of people who get tumors of the brain or central nervous system (CNS) is lower than other cancers. But these tumors cause a higher rate of serious effects and even death. Researchers want to test existing samples of tissue from these tumors to learn more about them. This may lead to better treatment. Objective: To study stored samples of CNS tumors to learn more about the tumors and explore new ways to diagnose them. Eligibility: The study will use tissue samples already collected at NIH from people with brain or CNS tumors. Design: The participants will have given their consent in a previous study. Researchers will review the tissue samples and any data collected about them. Researchers will do lab tests and scans on the samples. All data will be kept secure.

Surgery is the cornerstone treatment of most pediatric CNS tumors, including astrocytomas, ependymomas, medulloblastomas, and many other pathologies. In most pediatric CNS tumors, the aim of surgery is maximal tumor resection, while preserving neurological function. Extent of tumor residual has been shown to be a major prognostic factor for progression free survival (PFS), and survival in several malignant and low-grade tumors such as medulloblastomas, ependymomas, and astrocytic tumors. 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) has been shown to be valuable in intraoperative marking of various cancers. Following oral admission, during surgery, the tumor tissue is illuminated by blue light. Tumor cells tend to metabolize 5-ALA to a porphyrin named protoporhyrin IX (PpIX). PpIX reacts with the blue light and emits a pinky color (- fluorescence). This enables the surgeon to better identify tumor cells and perform a more extensive resection. Over recent years, many studies have proven the efficacy using 5-ALA for resecting various intracranial and spinal tumors, thus achieving a better tumor control. In the suggested study, we propose using the same technique for various pediatric central nervous system tumors. We will focus on the correlation between various pathologies and the fluorescence, trying to deduce the role of 5-ALA in resection of specific pathologies. Also, we will study the safety of 5-ALA use in the pediatric population.

RATIONALE: Studying blood samples from cancer patients undergoing pain treatment in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about how pain drugs work in the body. It may also help doctors predict how patients will respond to treatment. PURPOSE: This research study is looking at fentanyl in patients with cancer.