Active clinical trials for "Oligodendroglioma"

This is a two-part Phase I add-on clinical trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma or GBM. By "add-on" what is meant is that the experimental intravenous therapy, RRx-001, is combined or "added on" to standard of care. In newly diagnosed GBM standard of care consists of radiotherapy + temozolomide (TMZ) for 6 weeks followed (after a 4-6 weeks break) by maintenance TMZ given until the tumor progresses or worsens. By "maintenance" therapy what is meant is that TMZ is given less frequently to prolong or extend the time during which the tumor remains stable. G-FORCE-1 will be conducted in two parts; in the first part of the study (Dose Escalation, Part A) patients will be entered or assigned sequentially (that is consecutively) to gradually escalating or increasing doses of RRx-001 after patients have been entered on the previous dose until such time as it is no longer tolerated. At each dose level, a separate cohort or small group of at least 3 evaluable patients will be treated. RRx-001 will be administered by intravenous infusion (in other words, by slow injection in the veins) over 30-45 minutes once weekly during radiotherapy for 6 weeks followed by the FDA-approved chemotherapy, temozolomide (TMZ) alone for up to 6 months or longer. In the second part of this study (Part B), new groups or cohorts of patients will receive RRx-001 at the dose established in Part A by intravenous infusion over 30-45 minutes once weekly during radiotherapy for 6 weeks. Then, after a 4-6 weeks break, each cohort will receive increasing doses of RRx-001 and temozolomide (in other words, a double dose escalation) to establish an acceptable safety and activity window, in other words, a dose range that is relatively free of toxicity as well as active against the tumor, although the primary purpose of this study is to assess or evaluate safety. The reason or rationale to "add on" RRx-001 to radiotherapy and TMZ, which is described in more detail below on this page, is as follows: RRx-001 is a radiosensitizer and a chemosensitizer, which means that experimentally it increases the activity of radiation and chemotherapy in tumors. In addition, in other ongoing clinical trials, patients have experienced minimal toxicity or side effects with RRx-001 alone and also in combination with radiation in the brain; therefore, the hope is that RRx-001 will synergize or combine well with radiotherapy and TMZ in GBM without adding toxicity

The primary purpose of this phase II clinical trial is to determine the safety and effect on survival of patients autologous dendritic cells pulsed with autologous tumor lysate as a treatment for low-grade glioma patients. Other goals of this study are to determine if the vaccine can cause an immune response against patients' cancer cells and slow the growth of their brain tumors

This is a multicenter study evaluating the safety and tolerability of Toca 511 administered intravenously to patients with recurrent or progressive Grade III or Grade IV Gliomas who have elected to undergo surgical removal of their tumor. Patients meeting all of the inclusion and none of the exclusion criteria will receive an initial dose of Toca 511 administered as an intravenous, bolus injection, followed approximately 11 days later by an additional dose injected into the walls of the resection cavity at the time of planned tumor resection. Approximately 6 weeks later, patients will begin treatment with oral Toca FC, an antifungal agent, and repeated every 4 weeks. All patients enrolled in this study will be encouraged to participate in a continuation protocol that enables additional Toca FC administration and the collection of long-term safety and response data.

RATIONALE: Genetically-modified neural stem cells (NSCs) that convert 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) into the chemotherapy agent 5-FU (fluorouracil) at sites of tumor in the brain may be an effective treatment for glioma. PURPOSE: This clinical trial studies genetically-modified NSCs and 5-FC in patients undergoing surgery for recurrent high-grade gliomas.

This phase I clinical trial is studying the side effects and best dose of giving gamma-secretase inhibitor RO4929097 and cediranib maleate together in treating patients with advanced solid tumors. Gamma-secretase inhibitor RO4929097 and cediranib maleate may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Cediranib maleate also may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking blood flow to the tumor.

Background: The optimal treatment of anaplastic gliomas is controversial. Standard of care in most centers is still radiotherapy. This phase III study compared the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy vs chemotherapy in patients (pts) with newly-diagnosed, supratentorial gliomas of WHO grade III. Methods: Pts were randomized 2:1:1 between June 1999 and February 2005 in 34 German centers to receive (i) a 6-week course of radiotherapy (1,8-2 Gy fractions, total dose 54-60 Gy) or (ii) four 6-week cycles of CCNU at 110 mg mg/m2 on day 1, vincristine at 2 mg on days 8 and 29 and procarbazine at 60 mg/m2 on days 8-21 or eight 4-week cycles of 200 mg/m2 temozolomide on days 1-5. Treatment was stopped prematurely at disease progression or occurrence of unacceptable toxicity. At this time or at disease progression, treatment in the radiotherapy group was continued with one of the chemotherapies (1:1 randomization) and with radiotherapy in both chemotherapy groups. The primary endpoint was time-to-treatment-failure (TTF) defined as progression after radiotherapy and one chemotherapy in either sequence, or any time before if further therapy could not be employed. Assuming a 50% improvement in TTF of starting with chemotherapy, 318 pts were to be enrolled to provide 80% power to achieve statistical significance at a one-sided level of 0.05.

Rationale: Standard therapy for anaplastic oligodendrogliomas and mixed oligoastrocytomas includes radiation and chemotherapy. However, due to the potential long-term central nervous system toxicity from radiation, researchers speculate that it may be better to reserve radiation therapy for progressive disease. In addition, some patients with anaplastic oligodendroglioma and mixed oligoastrocytoma have unusually chemosensitive tumors. Previous research indicates that brain tumor patients with a deletion of the 1p chromosome have a higher response to the chemotherapy drug temozolomide.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects of fluorine F18 EF5 when given during positron emission tomography to find oxygen in tumor cells of patients who are undergoing surgery or biopsy for newly diagnosed brain tumors. Diagnostic procedures using fluorine F 18 EF5 and positron emission tomography to detect tumor hypoxia may help in planning cancer treatment

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of lenalidomide in treating young patients with recurrent, progressive, or refractory CNS tumors. Lenalidomide may stop the growth of CNS tumors by blocking blood flow to the tumor. It may also stimulate the immune system in different ways and stop tumor cells from growing.

The experimental anti-cancer drug IL13-PE38QQR, which is being developed for the treatment of malignant brain tumors, is composed of parts of two proteins: the immune system cytokine IL13 and a toxin from the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The IL13 part of the drug binds to another protein, the IL13 receptor, when this receptor is displayed on the outside surface of cells. Cells with drug bound to the IL13 receptor take up the drug, and the toxin part of the drug then kills those cells. Since brain tumor cells display the IL13 receptor, they are potential targets that may be killed by this drug. This is a pilot study to visualize the distribution of IL13-PE38QQR infused into and around brain tumor tissue before and after surgical removal of the tumor in adult patients with recurrent malignant glioma. Stored tumor tissue will be tested for presence of the receptor protein, which is required for study entry. Eligible patients will then undergo biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of recurrent malignant glioma. IL13-PE38QQR will be infused for 96 hours into and around tumor tissue through catheters that have been placed surgically. For the first 48 hours the drug will be mixed with a radioactive tracer, so that the distribution of the drug can be followed by a type of scanning called SPECT. Surgery to remove the tumor will be performed approximately 15 days after the end of the infusion. Catheters will again be placed surgically, and IL13-PE38QQR will be infused a second time for 96 hours. Radioactive tracer will be included in the infusion for the first 48 hours. For both infusions, SPECT scans will be taken at 6, 24, and 48 hours after the start of infusion. MRI scans will be taken within 90 minutes of the 24 and 48 hour SPECT scans. Patients will be followed closely with further scans and laboratory tests until completion of the study approximately 58 days after completion of the second infusion.