Active clinical trials for "Skin Neoplasms"

One-third of all malignancies in the United States (approximately one million cases diagnosed annually) are nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). NMSC causes considerable morbidity, economic burden, facial deformity and at least 1,000 deaths annually. Prevention of these malignancies with a topical agent free of serious side effects would confer substantial public health benefit. Three hundred fifty thousand veterans were expected to develop NMSC in 1994. NMSC is one of the most common conditions requiring dermatologic care in the VA system. Topical tretinoin has been used extensively to treat photoaged skin. Retinoids administered orally in high doses appear to be effective in chemoprevention of nonmelanoma skin cancer but have unacceptable toxicity. In this study, 1131 patients with a recent history of squamous cell and/or basal cell carcinoma were enrolled at six participating centers over a four-year period and were randomly assigned to either 0.1% tretinoin cream or placebo. They were followed for a minimum of two years to determine if topical tretinoin is effective in reducing the risk of new occurrences.

RATIONALE: Photodynamic therapy uses light and drugs that make cancer cells more sensitive to light to kill tumor cells. Photosensitizing drugs such as HPPH are absorbed by cancer cells and, when exposed to light, become active and kill the cancer cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy with HPPH in treating patients who have basal cell skin cancer.

RATIONALE: Photodynamic therapy uses light and drugs that make cancer cells more sensitive to light to kill tumor cells. Photodynamic therapy using aminolevulinic acid may be effective in treating patients with skin cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying how well photodynamic therapy that includes aminolevulinic acid works in treating patients with skin cancer.

to compare the effectiveness and safety of intralesional vs. systemic MTX in NMSC management

The purpose of study is to assess the safety and performance of EktoTherix™ Tissue Repair Scaffold in the treatment of full-thickness, dermatologic wounds created by the surgical removal of non-melanoma skin cancers. EktoTherix™ is a medical device developed by Neotherix Limited, manufactured by the polymer processing technique of electrospinning. Described as a "tissue scaffold", EktoTherix is placed into the surgical wound to help the patients' own cells repair the wound, enhancing healing and improving quality (including cosmetic outcome). The tissue scaffold is completely absorbed by the body during the healing process, which means that there is no need to remove it when the wound is healed. All patients recruited into this study are treated with EktoTherix, are seen weekly until they heal and seen again at the final follow-up visit three months post-surgery. The investigators hypothesise that the use of EktoTherix will increase incidence of complete healing and result in an overall better cosmetic result of the healed wound.

To assess whether vitamin D supplementation after surgery of a first cutaneous malignant melanoma protects against relapse of the disease.

Many types of cancer are primarily treated with surgery and patient survival is directly related to the extent to which the tumor is able to be removed. It is often difficult for surgeons to distinguish tumor tissue from normal tissue or to detect tumor cells that have spread from the original tumor site, resulting in incomplete removal of the tumor and reduced patient survival. In addition, in some sites, such as the brain, it is critical to avoid damage to normal tissue around the tumor to prevent adverse effects of surgery on function. We hypothesize that BLZ-100 will improve surgical outcomes by allowing surgeons to visualize the edges of the tumor and small groups of cancer cells that have spread to other sites in real-time, as they operate.

A single-center, prospective, randomized comparison with blinded assessment of cosmetic outcome. To compare cosmetic outcome of surgical defects of head and neck, repaired with non-resorbable monofilament sutures from the aspect of suture removal time 7 and 14 days. Data are gathered through a standardized form at the time of surgery concerning width and length of the surgical excisions, and if the patient has any systemic cortisone treatment or diabetes mellitus. At the time of surgery the patients are randomised to a suture time at 7 or 14 days postoperatively and all receive the same written information about postoperative care and restrictions. Photographs of the scars are taken one month and one year after the procedure and rated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) by three independent assessors blinded to the intervention and suture time. The width of the scar is measured after one ear. Study hypothesis is that leaving non-resorbable monofilament sutures in clean surgical wounds in the head and neck area for up to 14 days does not lead to poor cosmetic outcome.

This is a Phase 2, multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label trial of pimasertib versus dacarbazine aimed to confirm the activity of pimasertib in previously untreated subjects with N-Ras mutated locally advanced or metastatic malignant cutaneous melanoma by comparing the progression-free survival (PFS) of subjects treated with either pimasertib or dacarbazine and by getting a better understanding of the efficacy, safety, pharmacogenomics (PGx) and their relationship with pimasertib exposure.

Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery are standard treatments for basal cell carcinoma at most institutions. The purpose of this study is to determine whether adding vismodegib to radiation (chemoradiotherapy) is safe and tolerable. The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and tolerability of combined radiation therapy and vismodegib. This combination may increase the chances of the tumors being destroyed or unable to spread to other parts of the body in people with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma of the head and neck.