Active clinical trials for "Rectal Neoplasms"

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as capecitabine and oxaliplatin, 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 radiation therapy that uses a 3-dimensional image of the tumor to help focus thin beams of radiation directly on the tumor may kill more tumor cells and have fewer side effects. Giving chemotherapy together with radiation therapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Giving chemotherapy after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. It is not yet known whether capecitabine is more effective with or without oxaliplatin in treating patients with rectal cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying giving chemotherapy together with radiation therapy before surgery followed by capecitabine with or without oxaliplatin to see how well it works in treating patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

The aim of this controlled multicentric study is to assess rectal cancer surgery with sphincter preservation without pre operative mechanical bowel preparation

Anal sphincter preserving operations are now commonplace for both cancer and non-cancerous rectal diseases. However, this has not always been the case and this development has been facilitated by the invention of circular stapling instruments, which allow the bowel to be reconnected to the anal sphincters, where it would almost be impossible to do so manually. Nevertheless, some patients still require a permanent ostomy, as even with stapling devices ultra low joins of the bowel and sphincter muscles cannot always be performed by a conventional surgery. Therefore, a variety of alternative techniques have been proposed to avoid a permanent ostomy, but these have not become widespread due to the technical difficulty in performing them, their failure to completely eradicate rectal disease, and the damage they inflict upon the anal sphincters resulting in poor bowel function after surgery. The ideal ultra low sphincter preserving operation should remove the rectal disease entirely, allow the small or large bowel to be safely joined to the anal sphincters under direct vision, and retain the sphincter mechanism in its entirety. We propose such a technique that we term the APPEAR procedure, which approaches the lower third of the rectum via an incision between the scrotum or vagina, and the anal sphincters. This procedure preserves sphincter integrity, and allows either a stapled or manual join of the bowel to the sphincter mechanism, under direct vision. This trial is being conducted as a pilot study, with the procedure only offered to patients for whom a conventional sphincter saving procedure was technically impossible, or contraindicated.

This study is being done to compare two types of surgery currently used for rectal cancer. The two types of surgery are laparoscopic-assisted rectal resection and open laparotomy rectal resection. Although laparoscopic-assisted rectal resection is being used for rectal cancer in some medical centers, the effectiveness of this type of surgery compared to open surgery is unknown. The study will compare the safety and effectiveness of the surgeries, recovery from surgery in the hospital, overall recovery from surgery and cancer outcome.

The most common long-term problems after rectal surgery are bowel problems. These problems can include needing to pass bowel movements a lot, loose or mushy stools, inability to fully clear your bowels, and/or poor control of gas and stool. The investigators believe that a major cause of these problems is too much bacteria in the bowel and treatment with antibiotic tablets will hopefully help improve these bowel problems. In order to test this idea, the Colorectal Surgery Service of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is sponsoring a clinical trial. This trial will compare the antibiotic rifaximin and a placebo (a harmless tablet that has no effect) in the treatment of these bowel problems. Following this we will attempt to see if another antibiotic metronidazole also helps to treat these bowel problems. Both Metronidazole and rifaximin are well established drugs that have minimal side effects.

The parameter that best correlates with 5 years disease-free survival (DFS ) in patients (pts) with localized rectal cancer (RC) is the pathological TNM staging (ypTNM) after chemo-radiotherapy (Ch-RT). DFS is 97% in pts with ypT0N0M0 = ypCR and 42% in pts with ypN +. Standard 5-FU Ch-RT achieves 15% of ypCR. The use of IMRT achieves a high proportion of ypCR . This study aimed to demonstrate in a prospective manner the feasibility of personalizing Ch regimen base in TT in combination with IMRT in patients with RC. Secondary objectives included the number of ypCR and safety.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fluorouracil and leucovorin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving radiation therapy and chemotherapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Giving chemotherapy after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy is more effective with or without chemotherapy when given before surgery for rectal cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying radiation therapy given together with fluorouracil and leucovorin to see how well they work compared to giving radiation therapy alone before surgery in treating patients with stage II or stage III rectal cancer.

Erlotinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for their growth. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Bevacizumab may also stop the growth of colorectal cancer by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining erlotinib and bevacizumab with combination chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of erlotinib when given together with bevacizumab, fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin in treating patients with metastatic or locally advanced colorectal cancer.

Preoperative chemoradiation leads to increased pelvic control and overall survival, but both distant and local disease control remain problematic in locally advanced rectal cancer patients. Enhancing the effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy can increase tumor response as well as distant disease control. Patients who have complete response to therapy have increased sphincter preservation, and can possibly have more limited surgery (full thickness local excision). When combined with standard chemotherapy, bevacizumab [RHUMAB VEGF, Avastin] has been shown to improve response and median survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in a recent randomized trial, has led to increased activity in preclinical studies with radiotherapy, and has been found to be very well tolerated with chemoradiation in a phase I trial conducted at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. The hypothesis is that the addition of bevacizumab to standard chemoradiation will safely lead to increased tumor response in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (radiation directed at the tumor more precisely than in standard radiation therapy) with incorporated boost (an increase in the amount of radiation given during treatment) may cause less damage to normal tissue. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as capecitabine, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving radiation therapy together with chemotherapy before surgery may shrink the tumor so it can be removed. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of neoadjuvant intensity-modulated radiation therapy with incorporated boost when given together with capecitabine in treating patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.