Active clinical trials for "Central 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: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects and best dose of efaproxiral when given with carmustine and to see how well they work in treating patients with progressive or recurrent malignant glioma.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects and best dose of temozolomide when given with peripheral stem cell transplantation and to see how well they work in treating children with newly diagnosed malignant glioma or recurrent CNS tumors or other solid tumors.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one chemotherapy drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy following radiation therapy in treating patients who have malignant glioma.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy alone is as effective as chemotherapy plus radiation therapy in treating germ cell tumor. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying radiation therapy alone to see how well it works compared to chemotherapy and radiation therapy in treating patients with newly diagnosed primary CNS germ cell tumor.

RATIONALE: Everolimus may stop the growth of tumor cells by stopping blood flow to the tumor. Gefitinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for their growth. Combining everolimus with gefitinib may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects and best dose of everolimus when given together with gefitinib and to see how well they work in treating patients with progressive glioblastoma multiforme or (progressive metastatic prostate cancer closed to accrual 10/19/06).

The aim of this study is to follow up with all of the pediatric brain tumor patients who received proton beam radiation therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for which there is baseline neuropsychological testing in order to measure changes, if any, in neurobehavioral functioning (executive skills, emotional/behavioral functioning, and adaptive abilities) and their use of special education services at one year or more post-treatment. The investigators will also correlate neurobehavioral data with pertinent clinical information. Participation will be maximized through the use of mail-in, parental- and self-report questionnaires.

The purpose of this study is to help us understand gliomas, one type of brain tumor. This research protocol makes pictures of gliomas. We will take pictures of the glioma before and after treatment. The pictures are made with a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. PET scans use radioactive markers to "see" cancer cells. We plan to use two different radioactive markers, [18F]FACBC and [18F]FLT, to "see" if the glioma responds to the treatment being recommended by the doctor. We are investigating whether one or both of these types of PET scans can help us to better understand gliomas and their response to treatment. We expect these pictures will give us information the your tumor and may help us to understand why the treatment that the patient is receiving is affecting the tumor the way that it is. We also hope to collect information about the amount of radioactivity exposure. We will measure radioactivity exposure to the tumor, brain and other organs.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs, such as lithium, may protect normal cells from the side effects of radiation therapy. Giving lithium together with radiation therapy may allow a higher dose of radiation therapy to be given so that more tumor cells are killed. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of lithium when given together with whole-brain radiation therapy in treating patients with brain metastases from primary cancer outside the brain.

RATIONALE: Methylphenidate hydrochloride or modafinil may help reduce daytime sleepiness and improve the quality of life of patients with excessive daytime sleepiness after cancer therapy. It is not yet known whether methylphenidate hydrochloride or modafinil are more effective than a placebo in reducing daytime sleepiness in these patients. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying methylphenidate hydrochloride or modafinil to see how well they work compared with a placebo in treating young patients with excessive daytime sleepiness after cancer therapy.

RATIONALE: Methadone, morphine, or oxycodone may help relieve pain caused by cancer. It is not yet known whether methadone is more effective than morphine or oxycodone in treating pain in patients with cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying methadone to see how well it works compared with morphine or oxycodone in treating pain in patients with cancer.