Active clinical trials for "Pancreatic Neoplasms"

The purpose of this study is to determine safety and to obtain preliminary estimates of the rate of major pathologic response of neoadjuvant accelerated fraction, standard dose radiation given with chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced pancreas cancer.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the utility of secretin-enhanced MRI (S-MRI) in detecting and measuring pancreatic lesions in patients with known adenocarcinoma or Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) lesions. The hypothesis is that S-MRI is superior to MRI without secretin enhancement (N-MRI) in increasing tumor conspicuity, allowing for improved identification and more accurate measurement of lesions or precursor lesions in the pancreas.

TL-118 is an anti-angiogenic drug combination designed for the treatment of cancer. The investigational product Tl-118 comprises of four well-known active components. The therapy is administrated at a unique dosing regimen that was found to be effective and advantageous in terms of safety. The product is formulated as an oral suspension, conveniently administrated by the patients at home and not requiring medical staff assistance. This Phase II clinical trial aims to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of TL-118 in Gemcitabine treated Pancreatic Cancer patients

Cystic lesions of the pancreas are defined as round, fluid-filled structures within the pancreas detected by radiologic imaging. With widespread use of cross-sectional imaging modalities for various indications, such lesions are now detected in nearly 20% of abdominal imagings, with the majority discovered incidentally. These lesions encompass a wide spectrum of histopathologic entities and biologic behavior, ranging from benign to malignant. Substantial morphologic overlap restricts the accuracy in diagnosing specific type of cystic lesion in spite of recent advances in diagnostic modalities. It is a challenging issue to differentiate each cystic lesion and make a management plan since cystic lesions that are relatively common and asymptomatic may possess malignant potential. Although inflammatory pseudocysts were thought to account for 80-90% of cystic lesions of the pancreas, with cystic tumors accounting for the remaining,10 the latter may occur much more frequently than traditionally estimated. To date, surgical resection is generally recommended for malignant and potentially malignant lesions. However, surgical resection of the pancreas still carries substantial morbidity and sometimes mortality, especially for the cystic lesion located in the head portion. Therefore, management should be individualized by risk-benefit analysis for each patient. Recently, a pilot study of EUS-guided ethanol lavage for cystic tumors of the pancreas reported that complete resolution was achieved in only one-third of patients even though epithelial lining ablation was demonstrated in all resected specimens. Therefore, more effective treatment modalities or ablation agents are required to improve treatment responses. Intratumoral or intraperitoneal injection of chemotherapeutic agent has been used for endobronchial lesions of lung cancer, brain tumors and advanced ovarian cancer.13-16 EUS-guided injection of antitumor material has been reported in advanced pancreatic cancer. Although local injection of chemotherapeutic agents into pancreatic cystic tumors has not yet been reported, it is reasonable to suggest that such an approach may have an additive effect on ablation of the epithelial lining of cystic tumor when combined with ethanol lavage. Paclitaxel, a widely used chemotherapeutic agent, inhibits cell processes that are dependent on microtubule turnover. Due to its highly hydrophobic nature,19 paclitaxel is expected to exert its effect longer when instilled within a closed cavity such as a cyst. The hydrophobic and viscous nature of paclitaxel may reduce the possibility of it leaking through a puncture site and causing complications. The present study evaluated safety, feasibility and response following EUS-guided ethanol lavage with paclitaxel injection (EUS-EP) for treating cystic tumors of the pancreas.

RATIONALE: Counting the number of circulating cancer cells in samples of blood from patients with metastatic cancer may help doctors find out how much the cancer has spread. PURPOSE: This research study is looking at the number of circulating cancer cells in patients with metastatic breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, or pancreatic cancer.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel, oxaliplatin, leucovorin and 5-fluoruracil, work in different ways separately and in combination to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. The use of metronomic dosing of chemotherapy minimizes side effects and increases efficacy by anti-angiogenic effects. The pilot study demonstrated promising responses in all patients. It is not yet known how effective this drug and dosing combination is in treating advanced pancreatic cancer. PURPOSE: This non-randomized phase II trial is studying giving weekly doses of paclitaxel, oxaliplatin, leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil together as second or third-line therapy in treating patient with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas following demonstrated progression after first-line gemcitabine.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays and other types of radiation to kill tumor cells. Specialized radiation therapy that delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. Poly ICLC may stop the growth of liver cancer by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Giving the drug directly into the arteries around the tumor may kill more tumor cells. Giving cyclophosphamide and radiation therapy together with poly ICLC may be an effective treatment for liver cancer. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of giving cyclophosphamide, radiation therapy, and poly ICLC together and to see how well they work in treating patients with unresectable, recurrent, primary, or metastatic liver cancer.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and oxaliplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether giving both of these drugs on the same day is more effective than giving them on different days. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying two different schedules of gemcitabine and oxaliplatin to compare how well they work in treating patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

To determine the rate of response and the duration of the response following therapy with Aroplatinin patients with advanced solid malignancies.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fluorouracil and gemcitabine, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Fluorouracil may make the tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Brachytherapy uses radioactive material, such as phosphorus P32, placed directly into or near a tumor to kill tumor cells. Combining chemotherapy and external-beam radiation therapy with brachytherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying fluorouracil, gemcitabine, external-beam radiation therapy, and brachytherapy using phosphorus P32 to see how well they work compared to fluorouracil, gemcitabine, and external-beam radiation therapy in treating patients with locally or regionally advanced unresectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (pancreatic cancer).