Clinical Trials

Early Diagnosis of Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma in Prior Asbestos Workers

February 18, 2016
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Purpose: Occupational exposure to asbestos is known increase the risk of developing cancer of the lungs (bronchogenic carcinoma) or of the pleura (mesothelioma). Symptoms are subtle and non-specific, diagnosis is often late and the prognosis consequently is dismal. Currently there is no accepted non-invasive tool for the early diagnosis of mesothelioma or lung cancer in asbestos-exposed subjects. In the last decade, low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has been successfully developed and validated for the early diagnosis of lung cancer in high-risk smokers. Malignant mesothelioma might, in an early stage, resemble a benign pleural plaque, which is a common finding after asbestos exposure. We target to develop low-dose CT as a tool to serially image the pleural plaques, quantify their individual and overall volume, compute the growth rate with time, and, as such, identify the presence of mesothelioma early, before symptoms occur.

Methoxyamine, Cisplatin, and Pemetrexed Disodium in Treating Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors or Mesothelioma That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery or Mesothelioma That Is Refractory to Cisplatin and Pemetrexed

January 28, 2016
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Purpose: This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and the best dose of methoxyamine when given together with cisplatin and pemetrexed disodium and to see how well it works in treating patients with solid tumors or mesothelioma that have spread to other places in the body and usually cannot be cured or controlled with standard treatment (advanced), or mesothelioma that does not respond to cisplatin and pemetrexed disodium (refractory). Methoxyamine may shrink the tumor and may also help cisplatin and pemetrexed disodium work better by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drugs. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and pemetrexed disodium, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving methoxyamine together with cisplatin and pemetrexed disodium may be a better treatment for solid tumors or mesothelioma.

Do Your Genes Put You at a Higher Risk of Developing Mesothelioma

January 27, 2016
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Purpose:The purpose of this research study is to investigate the possibility that a person’s genes put a person at a higher risk of developing mesothelioma. The investigators will examine genes from DNA (genetic material) isolated from blood. This study will also examine the impact of environmental and work exposures and family history of common cancers on the development of mesothelioma. The genetic markers in this study will basically identify how a person’s body processes frequently encountered environmental pollutants and will not tell about chromosomes, specific diseases, or other potential health problems.

Combination of Gemcitabine and Imatinib Mesylate in Pemetrexed-pretreated Patients With Pleural Mesothelioma

December 3, 2014
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Purpose: This is a phase II, monocentric study of the combination of gemcitabine and imatinib mesylate in pemetrexed-pretreated patients with MPM expressing PDGFR-beta and/or C-kit by Immunohistochemistry (IHC). Treatment will be done until disease progression, or patient refusal or withdrawal of patient consent, or unacceptable toxicity.

MSB0010718C in Solid Tumors

November 26, 2014
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Purpose: This is a Phase 1, open-label, dose-escalation trial of MSB0010718C [antibody targeting programmed death ligand 1 (anti PD-L1)] with consecutive parallel group expansion in subjects with selected tumor indications. New recruitment has been closed for the following cohorts: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), metastatic breast cancer (MBC), and metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Investigation of the Anti-Cancer Activity of Artichoke Extract in an Asbestos-Exposed Population (ABOCA1)

November 19, 2014
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Purpose: This is a single-arm phase II trial to assess the biological activity (in a sub-cohort using a Simon two-stage Phase II design) and toxicity of Artichoke Whole Phytocomplex Concentrate (WPC). The objective of the study is to explore the potential for a non-toxic phytocomplex extract from the artichoke plant as a chemoprevention agent.

SPECTAlung: Screening Patients With Thoracic Tumors for Efficient Clinical Trial Access

November 12, 2014
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Purpose: SPECTAlung is a program aiming at screening patients with thoracic tumors to identify the molecular characteristics of their disease. The thoracic tumors include lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, thymoma or thymic carcinoma at any stage. Once the molecular characteristics are identified, there might be the possibility to offer these patients access to targeted clinical trials.

Dendritic Cell Vaccination for Patients With Solid Tumors

November 5, 2014
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Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the immunogenicity and clinical efficacy of intradermal vaccination with autologous RNA-modified dendritic cells (DCs) – engineered to express the WT1 protein – in patients with limited spread metastatic solid tumors, i.e. breast cancers, glioblastoma grade IV, sarcomas, malignant mesothelioma and colorectal tumors. Based on the results of our previously performed phase I study with autologous WT1 mRNA-transfected DC, the investigators hypothesize that the vaccination with DC will be well-tolerated and will result in an increase in WT1-specific CD8+ T cell responses.

Effect of Fas Ligand Polymorphism on Patients With Platinum/Gemcitabine-Treated Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

October 29, 2014
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To Study the Effect of Polymorphism in Fas Ligand Gene Promoter Region (rs 763110) on Gemcitabine/Platinum regimens used in treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM)

Tissue Procurement and Natural History Study of People With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Small Cell Lung Cancer, Extrapulmonary Small Cell Cancer, Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Tumors, and Thymic Epithelial Tumors

October 22, 2014
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Purpose

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. It causes more than one million deaths every year. Researchers want to gather tissue samples from people with lung and thymic cancers to understand the disease better. This may lead to new ways to diagnose and treat it.

Objective

To collect tissue samples for use in the study of lung cancers

Eligibility

Adults over age 18 with non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, extra pulmonary small cell cancer, pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors, and thymic epithelial tumors.

Design
  • Participants will be screened with a medical history, physical exam, and blood tests. They will be asked about how they perform their daily tasks.
  • Participants may be asked to give urine and blood samples. They may give a saliva sample if they cannot give blood. They will also give a sample of their tumor from a biopsy they had. They may also be given the option to undergo a biopsy.
  • Participants may have MRI, CT, and/or PET scans of the body. They will lie in a machine that takes pictures of the body.
  • After visits to the Clinical Center end, researchers will contact participants by phone every year to check on their health.