Active clinical trials for "Prostatic 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 with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of high dose chemotherapy plus peripheral stem cell transplantation followed by combination chemotherapy in treating patients with metastatic prostate cancer that has not responded to hormone therapy.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. It is not yet known whether standard radiation therapy is more effective than high-dose radiation therapy in treating patients with prostate cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of standard radiation therapy with that of high-dose radiation therapy in treating patients with stage II or stage III prostate cancer.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Amifostine may protect normal cells from the side effects of radiation therapy. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of radiation therapy plus amifostine in treating patients with primary prostate cancer.

RATIONALE: Male hormones can stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. Hormone therapy using flutamide and finasteride may fight prostate cancer by reducing the production of male hormones. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of flutamide and finasteride in treating prostate cancer patients with high PSA levels who were previously treated with radiation therapy or radical prostatectomy.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of conventional radiation therapy with high-dose radiation therapy in treating men with stage I or stage II prostate cancer.

RATIONALE: Antiandrogen withdrawal may be an effective treatment for prostate cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to study the effectiveness of ketoconazole and hydrocortisone for antiandrogen withdrawal in treating men with prostate cancer that is refractory to hormone therapy.

This study is being done to evaluate the safety and efficacy of atrasentan in men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

This multi-center study will evaluate whether thalidomide can improve the effectiveness of the drugs leuprolide or goserelin in treating testosterone-dependent prostate cancer. Leuprolide and goserelin-both approved to treat prostate cancer-reduce testosterone production, which, in most patients, reduces the size of the tumor. Thalidomide, a drug used for many years to treat leprosy, blocks the growth of blood vessels that may be important to disease progression. Patients 18 years or older with testosterone-dependent prostate cancer that has persisted or recurred after having had surgery, radiation therapy, or cryosurgery, but whose disease has not metastasized (spread beyond the prostate) may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history and physical examination, including blood tests, bone and computed tomography (CT) scans or other imaging studies. Study participants are randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. One group receives leuprolide or goserelin followed by thalidomide; the other receives leuprolide or goserelin followed by placebo (a look-alike pill with no active ingredients). Patients in both groups receive an injection of leuprolide or goserelin once a month for 6 months. After that time they take four capsules of either thalidomide or placebo once a day and remain on the drug until their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level returns to what it was before beginning leuprolide or goserelin or to 5 nanograms per liter, whichever is lower.(PSA is a protein secreted by the prostate gland. Monitoring changes in levels of this protein can help evaluate tumor progression). At this point the entire procedure begins again, starting with leuprolide or goserelin treatment, but the experimental drug is switched; patients originally treated with thalidomide are crossed over to placebo, and patients originally treated with placebo are crossed over to thalidomide. Patients are monitored periodically with the following tests and procedures: Medical histories and physical examinations. Blood and urine tests to monitor thalidomide and PSA levels, the response to treatment, and routine laboratory values (e.g., cell counts and kidney and liver function). Computed tomography (CT) and bone scans, and possibly other imaging tests to assess the tumor. Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies, as needed. For electromyography, a thin needle is inserted into a few muscles and the patient is asked to relax or to contract the muscles.

RATIONALE: Calcitriol, a form of vitamin D, may be able to prevent or slow the growth of prostate cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of calcitriol in treating patients who have a rising PSA level following previous treatment for prostate cancer.

RATIONALE: 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. It is not yet known which dose of radiation therapy is more effective in treating stage II prostate cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of two different doses of specialized radiation therapy in treating patients who have stage II prostate cancer.