Active clinical trials for "Central Nervous System Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying giving radiation therapy or combination chemotherapy to see how well it works in treating patients with clinically or radiologically progressive low-grade gliomas.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as vinblastine and carboplatin, 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. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of vinblastine when given together with carboplatin in treating young patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent low-grade glioma.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Everolimus may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Giving temozolomide together with everolimus may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of everolimus when given together with temozolomide in treating patients with newly diagnosed, recurrent, or progressive malignant glioblastoma multiforme.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as etoposide and cyclophosphamide, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Thalidomide, celecoxib, and fenofibrate may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking blood flow to the cancer. Celecoxib also may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving combination chemotherapy together with thalidomide, celecoxib, and fenofibrate may kill more cancer cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving etoposide and cyclophosphamide together with thalidomide, celecoxib, and fenofibrate works in treating young patients with relapsed or progressive cancer.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as carboplatin, etoposide, ifosfamide, and cisplatin, 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 to kill tumor cells. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase III trial is studying combination chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy to see how well it works compared to radiation therapy alone in treating patients with germ cell tumors in the brain.

This phase II trial studies the side effects and how well HSPPC-96 (vitespen) and temozolomide work in treating patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme. Vaccines made from a person's tumor cells and heat shock protein peptide may help the body to build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving HSPPC-96 (vitespen) together with temozolomide may kill more tumor cells.

RATIONALE: Mibefradil dihydrochloride may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the best dose of mibefradil dihydrochloride when given together with temozolomide in treating patients with glioma.

The purpose of the study was to determine if treating a limited volume of normal tissue surrounding the tumor or tumor bed using conformal radiation therapy would achieve similar rates of disease control compared to standard radiation therapy. The study was also conducted to examine the effect of irradiation on neurological, endocrine and cognitive function.

RATIONALE: Stereotactic radiosurgery may be able to send x-rays directly to the tumor and cause less damage to normal tissue. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving stereotactic radiosurgery together with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving stereotactic radiosurgery together with radiation therapy works in treating patients with glioblastoma multiforme.

The study will try to answer these questions: What is the highest dose of thalidomide brain cancer patients can receive safely in combination with irinotecan? How well does this combination work to shrink brain tumors, and how long do responses to treatment last? What side effects does the combination of drugs cause? How does treatment affect patients' quality of life (how they feel and what activities they are able to do)?