Active clinical trials for "Rectal Neoplasms"

Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of erlotinib in treating patients who have metastatic or unresectable solid tumors and liver or kidney dysfunction. Biological therapies such as erlotinib may interfere with the growth of tumor cells and slow the growth of the tumor

This clinical trial is studying the amount of EF5 and motexafin lutetium present in tumor cells and/or normal tissues of patients with abdominal (such as ovarian, colon, or stomach cancer) or non-small cell lung cancer. EF5 may be effective in measuring oxygen in tumor tissue. Photosensitizing drugs such as motexafin lutetium are absorbed by tumor cells and, when exposed to light, become active and kill the tumor cells. Knowing the level of oxygen in tumor tissue and the level of motexafin lutetium absorbed by tumors and normal tissue may help predict the effectiveness of anticancer therapy

This randomized phase II trial is studying giving bevacizumab and cetuximab together with irinotecan to see how well it works compared to giving bevacizumab and cetuximab alone in treating patients with irinotecan-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. Monoclonal antibodies such as cetuximab and 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 deliver tumor -killing substances to them. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as irinotecan, also work in different ways to kill tumor cells or stop them from growing. Giving cetuximab and bevacizumab together with irinotecan may improve the ability to block tumor growth.

This randomized phase III trial is comparing the effectiveness of three adjuvant combination chemotherapy regimens in treating patients who are receiving radiation therapy and fluorouracil either before or after surgery for stage II or stage III rectal cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as irinotecan, fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin, use 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. It is not yet known which adjuvant combination chemotherapy regimen is more effective in treating patients who are receiving radiation therapy and fluorouracil either before or after surgery for rectal cancer.

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies such as cetuximab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy such as fluorouracil 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. Giving cetuximab with fluorouracil and radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells.

This trial is investigating the inclusion of avelumab post long-course chemo-radiotherapy in patients with resectable locally advanced rectal cancer. It is hypothesised that this may enhance the pathological and imaging response rates whilst potentially reducing the relapse rates. Participants will receive standard long course chemoradiotherapy (LCCRT) treatment with radiotherapy and 5-fluorouracil (5 FU)/Capecitabine for 6 weeks, this then followed by 4 cycles of Avelumab and then surgical resection. The trial will measure disease response just prior to surgery and participants will be followed up for a minimum of 18 months (from study entry) and up to 42 months.

The aim of the present study is to assess if it is possible to offer intersphincteric rectal resection (IRR) to selected patients older than 70 years affected by ultra-low rectal cancer. The study, involving patients with rectal cancer at less than 5 cm from the anal verge, will compare elderly patients refusing standard sphincteric demolition and undergoing IRR, with some control groups (younger patients undergoing IRR, >70 years old patients undergoing abdominoperineal resection + colostomy in left iliac fossa, >70 years old patients undergoing abdominoperineal resection + perineal colostomy). The groups will be compared in terms of quality of life, quality of life associated to incontinence, overall survival, disease free survival and post-operative complications. This will be helpful to identify conditions for extending IRR to elderly patients. The study is run by Colo-rectal Surgery Unit at Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia (Italy) from 2009 to 2016, directly led by Dr. Sandro Zonta (principal investigator) and funded by the hospital itself.

Central South University in collaboration with Tianjin University developed the first domestically produced Chinese minimally invasive surgical (MIS) robot system which named "Micro Hand S" in 2013. This new MIS robot had been authorized to enter the clinical trial stage by the Ethics Committee of the Third Xiangya Hospital at Central South University. The Micro Hand S robot is safe and feasible in the preliminary study. However, compared with minimally invasive approaches (da Vici, laparoscope), the merits and demrits of rectectomy for rectal cancer are unclear. Therefore, the investigators conduct this retrospective study to focus on this concern.

During the course of tumor growth and possibly by manipulation during the surgical procedure, cells from rectal tumors may be shed into the peritoneal cavity. Such cells may give rise to local recurrence or contribute to the formation of metastatic disease, specifically in the form of peritoneal carcinomatosis. Detection of cancer cells in the peritoneal cavity at the time of surgery might therefore be of value for prediction of disease recurrence with subsequent prognostic implications for these patients. In this study the investigators aim to determine the presence of exfoliated tumor cells in peritoneal lavage samples from patients undergoing surgery for LARC.

To evaluate the influence to the blood supply of the anastomosis and the harvest of the No. 253 lymph nodes in different surgical methods--- preserving the left colic artery (LCA) and resect the No. 253 lymph node specifically in the radical resection of rectal carcinoma or dividing at the root of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) in the radical resection of rectal carcinoma.