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. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of liposomal cytarabine in treating young patients who have recurrent or refractory meningeal leukemia, lymphoma, or solid tumors.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Tamoxifen may kill tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for cell growth. Combining radiation therapy with tamoxifen may be effective in treating newly diagnosed brain stem glioma. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining radiation therapy and tamoxifen in treating children who have newly diagnosed brain stem glioma.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Peripheral stem cell transplantation or bone marrow transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, and bone marrow or peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have primary CNS germ cell tumors.

RATIONALE: Lonafarnib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for their growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving lonafarnib together with temozolomide may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of lonafarnib when given together with temozolomide in treating patients with recurrent primary supratentorial glioma.

This study is a single center, open-label, two-part study to assess image guided surgery of intramolecular imaging in nervous system tumors. Subjects with a diagnosis of a resectable nervous system tumor who are at risk of recurrence are included. The primary goal is to observe what tissues fluoresce in the OR, and then to identify if that tissue is cancerous/tumor or normal when the histopathology is performed.

This phase I trial collects blood samples to investigate the prevalence of changes in genes (genetic mutations) in solid tumor patient populations seeking care at Mayo Clinic Embedded Cancer Center at St. Vincent's Riverside. This may help doctors better understand and/or treat others who have genetic mutations.

RATIONALE: Tubefeeding may help maintain good nutrition and lessen weight loss in younger patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well tube feedings work in younger patients receiving chemotherapy for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or high-risk solid tumors.

RATIONALE: Anticonvulsant drugs, such as levetiracetam, may help control seizures caused by brain metastases. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying the side effects and how well levetiracetam works in treating patients with seizures caused by brain metastases.

This phase I trial studies the side effects of a silicone topical wound dressing (StrataXRT) and to see how well it works in preventing radiation dermatitis (skin burns and side effects caused by radiation) in pediatric patients undergoing radiation therapy. StrataXRT may help prevent or decrease severe skin rash, pain, itching, skin peeling, and dry skin in pediatric patients undergoing radiation therapy to the brain or spinal cord.

RATIONALE: Studying samples of blood in the laboratory from patients receiving radiation therapy and chemotherapy may help doctors learn more about the effects of this treatment on cells. It may also help doctors understand how well patients respond to treatment. PURPOSE: This research study is studying biomarkers in blood samples from young patients with newly diagnosed brain tumors undergoing standard radiation therapy and chemotherapy.