Active clinical trials for "Sarcoma"

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is presently the best study for assessing the size and extent of the patient's sarcoma. Many sarcomas contain fat that can interfere with the accuracy of sarcoma detection. The investigators have developed a new MRI method that can suppress all the fat signals in the patient's tumor and this may improve the investigators' ability to see the patient's sarcoma. The purpose of this study is to determine if the investigators' new fat-free imaging methods provides them with images that are better than, equal to, or worse than those images obtained by standard MRI methods. This study may help the investigators develop a more accurate MRI examination.

The purpose of this study is the validation of MMS test to detect active tumor growth in different cancer types before and after therapy, as well as in the course of therapy and for subsequent relapse control compared to standard methods (clinical examination, imaging, tumor markers). It should be consider whether the MMS test has comparable diagnostic accuracy, and thus can replace more expensive or invasive procedures in future.

Bone and soft tissue sarcomas are currently classified based upon light microscopy supplemented by immunohistochemistry, but within many if not all of these tumor histologic types, considerable heterogeneity exists not only in microscopic appearance but also in biologic behavior and prognosis. Progress in the directed treatment of these tumors, particularly the sarcomas, awaits characterization of the gene profiles for these tumors. Orthopedic oncology researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah are establishing a tumor bank for this purpose. The long term objectives of this work include: creating tumor specific gene profiles to improve diagnostic accuracy performing gene set validation for diagnostic predictive power defining a discriminate gene list implicated in pathogenesis The tissue procured under this protocol at SUNY Upstate Medical University will be limited to excess soft tissue and bone tumor tissue from patients otherwise undergoing clinically indicated procedures for diagnosis or treatment under the care of the local principal investigator (PI) and will be forwarded to the central investigator, R. Lor Randall, MD at Huntsman Cancer Institute for use in the characterization of the gene profiles of these tumors.

Postoperative wound healing complications following preoperative radiotherapy represent a severe problem in the treatment of malignant soft tissue tumors, and are reported to be 34% and more. The literature discusses intensely the advantages and disadvantages of this multimodal treatment concept and there are different opinions. The Canadian prospective randomized NCIC SR2 trial showed increased wound complication rates in the study arm receiving preoperative radiation. The Sarcoma Center Zurich pursues mainly this treatment concept and the results shall now be analysed and published. The approach is to show that not only the complication rates are comparable to international bench marks, but also the (still intermediate time) local control rates.

The aim of the study is to improve the understanding of molecular mechanisms in the development and progression of musculoskeletal tumors. These tumors do have in general unfavorable prognosis and conventional treatments (e.g. surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy) could not enhance the prognosis of these patients during the last ten to fifteen years. Therefore the investigators chose a new way, as they try to identify markers on a genetic level, who ideally act as a basis to develop new treatment options.

Background: - The Children s Oncology Group has established a research network, the Childhood Cancer Research Network (CCRN), to collect information about children with cancer and other conditions that are benign but involve abnormal cell growth in order to help doctors and scientists better understand childhood cancer. The CCRN's goal is to collect clinical information about every child diagnosed with cancer and similar conditions in the United States and Canada, to allow researchers to study patterns, characteristics, and causes of childhood cancer. The information can also help researchers study the causes of childhood cancer. To expand the CCRN, parents of children who have been diagnosed with cancer will be asked to provide information about themselves and their child for research purposes. Objectives: To obtain informed consent from parents (and the child, when appropriate) of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults newly diagnosed with cancer to enter their names and certain information concerning their child into the Childhood Cancer Research Network. To obtain informed consent from parents (and the child, when appropriate) of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults newly diagnosed with cancer for permission to be contacted in the future to consider participating in non-therapeutic and prevention research studies involving the parents and/or the child. Eligibility: - Parents of children who have been seen at or treated by a hospital that is a member of the Children s Oncology Group. Design: Parents will provide permission to have personal information sent from their child s hospital to the CCRN, including the child and parents' names; child's gender, birth date, race, and ethnicity; information about the disease; and the treating institution. Parents will also give permission for CCRN to contact the diagnostic laboratory to obtain specific information about the tumor or cancer cells. Parents will be asked if they are willing to be contacted in the future to consider participating in CCRN research studies, and will provide contact information (name, home address, and telephone number) to be entered in the CCRN. Parents or patients who change their minds about having information available in the CCRN can ask the treatment institution to restrict access to the identifying information. Parents or patients who refuse to have information included in the CCRN or be contacted in the future will still be able to enter clinical cancer research studies.

To review the outcome of patients with soft tissue sarcoma treated with chemotherapy from 2004 and 2005.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are a rare group of cancers that can arise in any 'soft' tissue but commonly involve muscles, fat and nerves. Even following surgery and radiotherapy over 50% of tumours will recur or spread and at present, there is no reliable test that allows doctors to predict in which patients this will occur. DNA that is not inside cells (cell-free or cfDNA) is present in very small quantities circulating in blood. In cancer patients some of this cfDNA comes from cancer cells. Analysis of cancer-derived cfDNA in patients with other cancers has shown that the quantity and characteristics of cfDNA changes with stage of disease and treatment. The researchers plan to investigate the abundance and persistence of cancer-derived cfDNA in STS patients at various stages of disease to investigate the potential role of these characteristics as biomarkers. Selection of the genetic characters to be tracked in the patients' cfDNA is an important consideration. An established hallmark of a cancer cell is the ability to undergo an unlimited number of cell divisions. In normal human cells protective structures on the ends of chromosomes called telomeres provide a mechanism to limit the number of times a healthy cell can divide. This limitation has to be overcome in cancer cells for a tumour to form. This occurs by the activation of one of two telomere maintenance mechanisms (TMM) - either an enzyme called Telomerase or a mechanism known as Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT). In many sarcomas the activation of either TMM is associated with genetic changes (mutations) in a small number of genes. As these mutations are not present in normal cells but mark an essential feature of cancer cells (and their capacity for unlimited cell division) they are likely to be reliable markers of the presence of STS cells. The investigators plan to develop sensitive, quantitative assays to detect TMM associated mutations in tumour derived cfDNA in the blood of patients with STSs, and track these mutations overtime. They will establish the amount of cancer-derived cfDNA in STS patients at the time of surgery, and persistence of this cfDNA during follow up visits following tumour resection and in the events of local tumour recurrence or spread (metastatic disease). Once these basic parameters are established analysis will be broadened to include other genes that are commonly mutated in STSs with a view of identifying other genetic characteristics that may also aid identification of patients at high risk of recurrence or spread. In summary all of the assays described above should facilitate better monitoring of patients with STS, and allow earlier treatment if STS recurs following surgery.

To determine the activity of weekly Docetaxel and Gemcitabine in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma previously treated with anthracycline and/or ifosfamide Primary endpoint: response rate Secondary endpoint: progress-free survival, overall survival, safety

RATIONALE: Polyvinylpyrrolidone-sodium hyaluronate gel may lessen the pain of oral mucositis, or mouth sores, in patients undergoing treatment for cancer. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well polyvinylpyrrolidone-sodium hyaluronate gel works in reducing pain from oral mucositis in young patients with cancer.